American Poison
A Deadly Invention and the Woman Who Battled for Environmental Justice
Daniel Stone
- From
- the
- national
- bestselling
- author
- of
- The
- Food
- Explorer
- comes
- the
- untold
- story
- of
- Alice
- Hamilton,
- a
- trailblazing
- doctor
- and
- public
- health
- activist
- who
- took
- on
- the
- booming
- auto
- industry—and
- the
- deadly
- invention
- of
- leaded
- gasoline,
- which
- would
- poison
- millions
- of
- people
- across
- America.At
- noon
- on
- October
- 27,
- 1924,
- a
- factory
- worker
- was
- admitted
- to
- a
- hospital
- in
- New
- York
- City,
- suffering
- from
- hallucinations
- and
- convulsions.
- Before
- breakfast
- the
- next
- day,
- he
- was
- dead.
- Alice
- Hamilton
- was
- determined
- to
- prevent
- such
- a
- tragedy
- from
- happening
- again.By
- the
- time
- of
- the
- accident,
- Hamilton
- had
- pioneered
- the
- field
- of
- industrial
- medicine
- in
- the
- United
- States.
- She
- specialized
- in
- workplace
- safety
- years
- before
- the
- Occupational
- Safety
- and
- Health
- Administration
- was
- created.
- She
- was
- the
- first
- female
- professor
- at
- Harvard.
- She
- spent
- decades
- inspecting
- factories
- and
- mines.
- But
- this
- time,
- she
- was
- up
- against
- a
- formidable
- new
- foe:
- America’s
- relentless
- push
- for
- progress,
- regardless
- of
- the
- cost.The
- 1920s
- were
- an
- exciting
- decade.
- Industry
- was
- booming.
- Labor
- was
- flourishing.
- Automobiles
- were
- changing
- roads,
- cities,
- and
- nearly
- all
- parts
- of
- American
- life.
- And
- one
- day,
- an
- ambitious
- scientist
- named
- Thomas
- Midgley
- Jr.
- triumphantly
- found
- just
- the
- right
- chemical
- to
- ensure
- that
- this
- boom
- would
- continue.
- His
- discovery—tetraethyl
- leaded
- gasoline—set
- him
- up
- for
- great
- wealth
- and
- the
- sort
- of
- fame
- that
- would
- land
- his
- name
- in
- history
- books.Soon,
- Hamilton
- would
- be
- on
- a
- collision
- course
- with
- Midgley,
- fighting
- full
- force
- against
- his
- invention,
- which
- poisoned
- the
- air
- we
- breathe,
- the
- water
- we
- drink,
- and
- the
- basic
- structure
- of
- our
- brains.American
- Poison
- is
- the
- gripping
- story
- of
- Hamilton’s
- unsung
- battle
- for
- a
- healthy
- planet—and
- the
- ramifications
- that
- continue
- to
- echo today.
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