Wall Street Journal: Fact-Checking Facebook’s Fact Checkers — The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board goes after Facebook for politicizing science and outsourcing their fact checking to partisan groups. Moreover, these fact checkers are passing off their own opinions as fact, while seeking to silence other voices—including scientists—who disagree.
Times Union: State Finds No PFAS Toxic Threat from Norlite — After a year of studying a Cohoes, NY, incinerator plant that was burning PFAS for disposal, state investigators report no evidence of contamination around the facility. The results of the study could instruct other regulators looking for safe means of disposing of PFAS.
Independent Women’s Forum: Roundup Settlement A Boon For Plaintiffs’ Lawyers — The experts at IWF break down the latest proposed Roundup settlement, and come away confused by the deal: Though Bayer will pay nearly $11 billion dollars to settle various class action lawsuits, glyphosate (the chemical at the center of the controversy) will remain on the market, as approved by the EPA. They conclude: “Either glyphosate is dangerous and should be taken off the market or the Roundup Settlement is a plaintiffs’ bar shakedown.”
Newsweek: Johnson & Johnson’s Talc Lawsuits Are Fueling Skepticism of Its COVID Vaccine — As this story from Newsweek suggests, massive lawsuits may do even more reputational damage than previously thought. Consumers are voicing concern over Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine—which scientists and experts insist is safe—specifically citing the talc lawsuits as reason to refuse the shot.
Axios: The Pentagon’s Multibillion-Dollar “Forever Chemicals” Problem — States are pressuring the Department of Defense to take action on PFAS, after the Pentagon revealed that hundreds of drinking water systems may have been exposed to chemical runoff. The DoD says that replacing PFAS in its fire fighting and cleaning up the chemicals will cost billions of dollars. Meanwhile, states are navigating how to regulate the compound on their own.