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Comment by Aeolun | Hacker News Reader

It’s kind of hidden at the end of the article, but if these numbers were considered fine in 2020, it’s a bit backwards to blame them for keeping to the original limit now that someone adjusted the numbers.

Even if they don’t release any more PFAS than acceptable under the new standards that won’t clear up the earlier pollution.

And I sorta agree that making people attentive to the fact their water is now at dangerous levels due to a fuckup by whoever set the 2020 levels is not the factories’ responsibility.

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Except that Chemours, the company behind the pollution, already knew about the toxicity of PFAS in the 1990's. Source (in Dutch): https://www.bnnvara.nl/joop/artikelen/chemours-wist-dertig-j...

This still reads like a failure of governance to me.

It’s up to Chemours whether to hold themselves responsible for not meeting their internal guidelines (from what I read here they did/do). Of course it’s less than ideal they keep everything silent but their incentives probably point them that way.

If the government also knew, and chose not to do anything (and indeed, apparently wrote that it’s not financially feasible), then that’s a fault of government. The company won’t close itself if what they’re doing is morally dubious but legally perfectly fine (especially the people working at that location have a great incentive to not make waves, even if they’re the ones drinking the water).

> Of course it’s less than ideal they keep everything silent but their incentives probably point them that way.

> The company won’t close itself if what they’re doing is morally dubious but legally perfectly fine

It always surprises me that society has been programmed to accept morally-dubious practices that are legal as something inevitable, that a company can use that as a cop out. Perhaps amoral capitalism isn't a great system for society, and needs some reform to stop fucking people's lives for economical/financial gains...

> morally-dubious practices that are legal as something inevitable

I think I stopped believing that there was any changing this around age 30 or so. You can only see so much of it before it just becomes the default assumption.

Then there’s these times in your life when you do the right thing and are consistently punished for it… I can see why people would stop caring.

Also mentioned in the article is that this company did know that about the toxic effects of these chemicals but just ignored it or kept it secret. They know it is toxic but still choose to dump it in the river because it below the limit or there is no limit.

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