Poisoning the Well

The shocking story of how PFAS, the “forever chemicals” found in everyday household products, poisoned an entire nation

Poisoning the Well draws on original, shoe-leather reporting in four highly contaminated towns and damning documents from the polluters’ own files to trace an ugly history of corporate greed and devastated human lives.

We learn that PFAS, toxic chemicals found in everything from cooking pans to mascara, are coursing through the veins of 97 percent of Americans. We witness the pain of families who lost sisters and daughters, cousins and neighbors after PFAS leached into their drinking water. We discover evidence that the makers of forever chemicals may have known for decades about the deadly risks of their products—because their own scientists have been documenting these dangers since the 1960s. And we see the failure of our government, time after time, to provide basic protections to its citizens.

It is impossible to read this searing exposé without being infuriated by the recklessness of corporate America. But readers will also be awed by the spirit of ordinary people who, while fighting for their own lives, took it upon themselves to fix a broken regulatory system. Heart-wrenching and maddening, stirring and uplifting, Poisoning the Well offers a unique window into the worst and best of human nature. It is essential reading for anyone concerned about the unfettered power of industry and the invisible threat it poses to the health of the nation—and to each of us.