Low-level but consistent exposure to phosgene may cause irreversible breathing issues like emphysema and fibrosis, as well as an increase in certain types of pneumonia. Additionally, some reports show that exposure to phosgene may result in Reactive Airway Dysfunction Syndrome, a form of asthma caused by chemicals and other irritants. No information exists on reproductive or developmental harm in humans or animals. Furthermore, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lacks any data concerning links to phosgene gas exposure and cancer. It’s simply an unknown that doesn’t help the victims of the latest Norfolk Southern train derailment disaster.
We’ve seen throughout modern history, though, that companies accountable for exposing individuals to toxic chemicals and products usually try to shirk their responsibilities to the victims and skew data in their favor. Some have even touted their products as healthy. Here are a few examples:
Asbestos - Court documents show how the asbestos industry used its control and influence to keep the dangers of asbestos hidden for decades. Reports from as early as the 19th century suggested the serious hazards of asbestos. However, as usual, the companies that manufactured asbestos chose profits over the health of employees and the public. Some covered up medical research that would have led to stricter regulations, while others kept damaging X-ray scans a secret from the employees who had results that revealed the development of respiratory disease. The scandal even extended to companies that worked closely with the asbestos industry, such as Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, which aided in concealing the adverse health effects.
Radium - The discovery of radium by Marie Curie led to the development of the U.S. Radium Corporation, which produced a high-tech glow-in-the-dark paint that allowed World War I foot soldiers to see instruments at night. The business also used the product on household items. Once the dangers of the compound were better understood, the company insisted to the public that minute amounts of radium in their paint were harmless. Still, that wasn’t so for their workers who regularly touched and ingested the compound because of the delicate nature of their work, which was painting tiny numbers on wristwatches. Most of the employees were women. When one of the workers began showing disturbing symptoms, her doctor suggested it might be tied to her work at U.S. Radium.
When she started investigating, a supposed expert from Columbia University asked to examine her and declared her to be in perfect health. However, that expert was not a doctor, and he and his alleged esteemed colleague turned out to be none other than a toxicologist on the U.S. Radium payroll and, the other, a vice president of U.S. Radium. Even worse, when the female workers started to complain about illness and began to die, they would try to shame and hush them by saying it was syphilis.
Unfortunately, since U.S. Radium was a powerful and influential company with deep pockets, it took two years for the workers to engage a lawyer willing to take them on. By then, many had become too ill to be actively involved in the case and died shortly afterward.
Tobacco - Besides asbestos, the tobacco industry is probably the best known for concealing and suppressing data that would reveal the dangers and addictiveness of its use. They falsely marketed “low-tar or “light” cigarettes as less harmful because they understood smokers would opt for something with reduced harmful effects rather than fully quit so they could retain customers. They purposefully targeted young people because they knew their older customers would die off from the ill effects of tobacco and needed replacement consumers. The effects of second-hand smoke were played down, while internal documents show they acknowledged the health threats.
Despite their claims otherwise, tobacco companies have manipulated nicotine levels to create a more addictive product and have done so since 1954 or earlier. Tobacco contains radioactive particles that result in lung cancer. While tobacco companies knew of techniques that could have removed this radiation, they chose not to because it could make it harder for smokers’ brains to absorb nicotine. Thus, they wouldn’t get the rush that keeps them addicted.
Lead - In the early 20th century, research at General Motors developed Ethyl Gas which contained lead (however, there was no mention of lead in the product label.) Workers who produced the product soon began to become psychotic and die, which caused the Surgeon General to intervene. Still, the lead researcher originally hired to be a consultant on preventative recommendations became empowered by Ethyl Corp, General Motors, DuPont, and others. His sole opinion dictated the continued use of lead and downplayed any adverse health effects on the public. The researcher, Kehoe, had developed the science that others would use to gauge “normal” lead levels. That is, until further analysis by another scientist, Patterson, that wasn’t beholden to G.M., and other chemical corporations showed that Kehoe’s research was fundamentally flawed. There basically aren’t any “normal” levels of lead. However, it wasn’t until 1990 that lead was removed from gasoline.