Toxic Docs

We've just uploaded a second batch of the Poison Papers to our site. Read more about the collection here.

Today, Toxic Docs is pleased to announce that it is hosting the Poison Papers on its site. You can browse them by clicking here. And you can search them by choosing "Poison

It sounds innocuous, neutral, and legitimate enough to the undiscerning eye: Asbestos Information Association (AIA). But it was in fact a front group founded by the asbestos industry in the late-20th century to

In the 1970s, facing mounting bad publicity and regulatory crunch, the asbestos industry regrouped, forming trade associations and devising public relations campaigns. In this closed-door Executive Committee meeting of the International Asbestos Information

Recently, Toxic Docs was pleased to learn from the National Science Foundation that it won a $457,649 grant to support its work. Yeah! Merlin Chowkwanyun will serve as PI of the project,

A few months ago, we happily reported that the California Supreme Court ordered companies that had once manufactured lead paint to pay $1 billion towards helping remediate a residual mess we're all still

We've just added about 90 new documents on 3M and PFASs in Minnesota. 3M recently settled a case brought by the state for $850 million. Among other issues, these documents show deliberation by

Toxic Docs has always seen itself as part of a larger environmental health community. We freely provide our resources to those looking to house documents on environmental health and to take advantage of

This week, a California jury found Monsanto liable in a case around its weed killer Roundup. A groundskeeper claimed exposure to Roundup contributed to development of his cancer. It ordered Monsanto to pay

Asbestos has been in the news all this summer. First came notice of a multi-billion dollar judgment against Johnson and Johnson for asbestos in talc that plaintiffs claim contributed to development of ovarian

Last month, a jury handed down a huge $4.6 billion verdict against Johnson & Johnson, finding it liable for ovarian cancer that plaintiffs claim was associated with asbestos in talc. Most people

This summer, Karuna Vikram, a NYC high school student, has helped author a series of posts about material in Toxic Docs. You can read them here here. We decided to get to know

Environmental health is often analyzed separately from occupational health, but they're often less distinct than we think. That's something clear in this document about fuel tank cleaners, who fell sick shortly after lead

In its final days, the Lead Industries Association (LIA) was still mounting aggressive campaigns to protect its members. Following the 1996 re-election of Bill Clinton, it received the following proposal from a public

Sharon Lerner (@fastlerner) is one of the best investigative journalists working today. Now a reporter for The Intercept, Lerner specializes on the environment and health. In the past couple years, has been writing

We've blogged previously about The Lead Papers, our collection of 70,000+ documents on lead. We'll finish importing all of them next week. We recently discussed a document that showed one way the

We've just pulled in a little under 10,000 new documents on lead, bringing our total in The Lead Papers to a little more than 40,000 documents on lead. Click here to

Students in Columbia's Corporate Behavior and Public Health class spent the first few weeks of the semester using ToxicDocs to research the case of tetraethyl lead, which was added to gasoline between the

In 1972, NBC News produced a segment on lead for one of its programs. It led to alarm from the lead industry, which arranged for representatives from the International Lead Zinc Research Organization,

It's one of the largest environmental health judgements ever. Paint companies, the California Supreme Court ruled last week, will be required to help pay around $1 billion for lead paint remediation in the

Today, we're continuing our series of blog posts highlighting student investigations into tetraethyl lead using ToxicDocs primary sources. Tetraethyl lead was added to gasoline beginning in the 1920s through the 1960s despite the

This is the second in our series of blog posts highlighting student investigations into tetraethyl lead using ToxicDocs primary sources. Tetraethyl lead was added to gasoline beginning in the 1920s through the 1960s

Leaded gasoline wasn't banned in the United States until the late-20th century. Against mounting challenges from the scientific community, the industry continued to downplay its risks. We are still dealing with leaded gasoline's

The Lead Papers are 70,000 documents that we will be uploading over the next few weeks. Previous installments have included the personal files of Robert Kehoe, leaded gasoline's foremost defender, and numerous

ToxicDocs isn't just for researchers. This blog post is about its use in a current class, called "Poisoned Worlds: Corporate Behavior and Public Health," right here at Columbia University.