PFAS were originally used to contain nuclear chemicals, new book finds

By Colleen Leahy | Wisconsin Public Radio | July 11, 2025

Read the full article by Colleen Leahy (Wisconsin Public Radio)

"PFAS were never intended for use in regular people’s homes.

This group of chemicals, nicknamed “forever chemicals” because of their ability to resist deterioration even in the most extreme environments, were first used by Manhattan Project scientists who needed a material that could withstand the caustic substances used in uranium enrichment.

That material was Teflon.

Investigative journalist Mariah Blake’s new book, “They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals,” traces the history of PFAS and how these chemicals grew to be so ubiquitous that they are now believed to be in the bodies of every human on earth.

Blake spoke with WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” about her book and what she learned from nearly a decade of following people in some of the first places to bring the issue of PFAS to the broader public."