The Biggest Chemical Coverup In History

An investigation into the history of PFAS, how chemical companies concealed their toxicity, and their widespread environmental and health impacts.

The biggest chemical cover up in history. PFAS has polluted the entire global water system. Now, potentially dangerous forever chemicals are being found in the entire US population. Go to groundnews.com/Ve to get all sides of every story. Subscribe to save 40% off the unlimited Vantage Plan through our link. If you’re looking for a molecular modelling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - ve42.co/SnatomsV Sign up to the Veritasium newsletter for weekly science updates - ve42.co/Newsletter We have a tabletop game launching! Pledge your support now - ve42.co/KickStarterD ▀▀▀ 0:00 Killed by Fridges 5:27 Teflon and The Manhattan Project 7:59 Teflon is Tricky 11:37 The Teflon Revolution 13:27 Earl Tennant's Farm 17:34 Inside DuPont 20:28 Fluoride In Drinking Water 25:00 It's bigger than that 29:23 What is PFAS? 35:56 How much PFAS is in Derek’s blood? 37:56 How forever chemicals get into your blood 46:18 Removing PFAS from drinking water 49:30 Can you lower your PFAS levels? ▀▀▀ Thank you so much to everyone who voted for this video to win the people's voice awards for best longform at the 2026 Webby Awards. We couldn't have done it without you. Thank you again for all your support! A huge thank you to Rob Bilott for his time and expertise. Check out his fantastic book: Bilott, R. (2019). Exposure. Simon and Schuster - ve42.co/7R Rob's story also inspired the 2019 film: Dark Waters. Thank you to Doctor Mike for giving us a medical perspective on PFAS! Check him out at @DoctorMike Thank you to Henrik Haggeman and the Puraffinity team, as well as Andrew Patterson and Eurofins, for doing the PFAS testing. Thank you to Leslie Hamilton, Johns Hopkins APL, Alex Conrad, Imperial College London, Jana Avgustini, and Matija Krvavica for their help on the project. ▀▀▀ PFAS Tools: PFAS Blood Test - ve42.co/PFASTest What's My Exposure? via www-pfas.pfas-exchange.org - ve42.co/myexposure Serum PFAS Calculator via ics.uci.edu - ve42.co/pfascalculator Interactive Map: PFAS Contamination Crisis via www.ewg.org - ve42.co/pfasmapinteractive The Map of Forever Pollution via foreverpollution.eu - ve42.co/foreverpollutionmap Australian PFAS Chemicals Map via pfas.australianmap.net - ve42.co/australianpfasmap ▀▀▀ References: References can be found here - ve42.co/PFASReferences Images & Video: Image and video references can be found here - ve42.co/PFASVisuals 3D Models: "Low Poly Base Mesh-530 Tri" (skfb.ly/onsxE) by Huge_Man "Blood Vessel" (skfb.ly/owHJX) by IMU University “Generic Factory” (skfb.ly/onQpR) by assetfactory "Lowpoly People + Waldo" (skfb.ly/6zqCE) by Loïc Norgeot PFOA Molecule via PubChem - pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Perfluorooctanoic-acid ▀▀▀ Special thanks to our Patreon supporters: Adam Foreman, Albert Wenger, Alex Porter, Alexander Tamas, Anto