Around 1m people, including 13,000 youths, especially vulnerable because they can do little to protect themselves, co-author says
Nearly half of US prisons draw water from sources likely contaminated with toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, new research finds.
At least around 1m people incarcerated in the US, including 13,000 juveniles, are estimated to be housed in the prisons, and they are especially vulnerable to the dangerous chemicals because there is little they can do to protect themselves, said Nicholas Shapiro, a study co-author at the University of California in Los Angeles.
“We need to think about who is exposed and who has the least agency to mitigate their exposure – that’s why this is such a unique population,” he said. “We see the dehumanization of incarcerated people across the country, and these exposures are symptoms of that larger problem.”
Doesn’t this also apply to millions of US households? Those same water sources being used by the prisons are used by surrounding areas as well. PFAS is everywhere and no one in government seems to give a shit.
Not just US this shit is all over the world
The particular complaint here is that people on the outside are allowed to pursue water treatment/alternative sources.
What seems particularly fucked up is that there doesn’t appear to be any broad quality standard for drinking water prisoners are forced to consume.
Well, in some situations at least. In general you don’t really have a choice of water when you bathe or shower. Kids in school also don’t have a choice of water when they get thirsty in the middle of the day. People don’t really get to choose what water was used to make certain foods they buy from the grocery store, which can really come from anywhere. Or the water that livestock drink, which becomes part of milk and eggs and meat.
And when you can buy your own water, bottled water can contain PFAS anyways, either present in the source it was drawn from or added by the very container it shipped to you in.
Exactly why I said “allowed…” Very few people will have both the means and wherewithal to effectively reduce their intake of pfas.
Sounds LeJeunish
I was thinking why’s nobody asking why there are a million people in jail but I looked it up and it’s actually closer to 1.8 million 😳
You guys really shat on the definition of “freedom©®™” from a great height didn’t yous 😂
Just wait until you learn that slavery of the incarcerated is constitutionally protected under the 13th amendment, and still in practice by the privately and federally owned prison system, capitalizing on prisoners and sometimes denying parole to maintain headcount.
Well that just sounds like pure unadulterated evil thanks
Agreed.
and still in practice by the privately owned prison system
I just want to highlight this because private prisons make up the extreme minority of US prisons (about 8%), so they are often statistically irrelevant when looking at issues related to the US prison system as a whole.
The public (state and federal) prisons are the main profiteers of these sorts of policies. Forced prison labor, often contracted out to manufacturing companies, is encouraged under the excuse of building a work ethic that the prisoners can eventually re-enter society with. But that doesn’t stop the government from selling the services of prison laborers to the highest bidder.
Moreover, other institutions (public and private) benefit from this practice as well. For example, if you’ve ever lived on campus in an American university before, chances are your cheap dorm furniture was made in part by prison slave laborers. Students pay the state to attend public university, the state pays the contractor for the furniture, the contractor pays the state a pittance for the contract, and the prison gets to say they are helping “rehabilitate” their inmates (though the state officials who award these contracts are also certainly getting some generous kickbacks to ensure the contracts keep coming).
You’re right. I didn’t realize until you prompted me to look up more about it. I edited my comment to correction. Thank you!
I heard that in Mississipi you can be jailed for failing to repay your dept. The only places in the world with such policy are Afghanistan and a couple others (Iran maybe).
You can be incarcerated for homelessness in Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, San Diego, and Portland.
Unbelievable…
Last i heard all the fresh water everywhere is so contaminated
Prison reform is critical
break the law and you get locked up. simple as that.
dont want to be locked up? dont break the law.
What about all those rich people who commit crimes like rape and treason who get off Scott free, or with a slap on the wrist and a month in a country club?
You right-wing rich-cock sucker.
I love having to keep a lawyer on retainer so I can constantly pester them with questions to ensure I’m not breaking any laws, but cops don’t have to know the law they’re supposed to enforce.
Deny basic human rights to your incarcerated population and you get labeled as a shithole of a country. Simple as that.
Don’t want to be labeled as a shithole of a country? Respect human rights.
I wasn’t aware that prison sentences commonly included death from chemical ingestion
What does that have to do with contaminated water?
Start with Trump.
You: break the law, become a slave
https://daily.jstor.org/slavery-and-the-modern-day-prison-plantation/
