HN user
This story may or may not be true, either way it encapsulates what a scientist should be: distracted by reality and allowing other smart people to play their roles. Feynman had his own things to work on, and clearly there were more people needed for humans to advance.
For those wondering
PFA/PFOS="poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances"
As an article seeking to get this message out about the PFA court case, perhaps you are justified, however this should have been your starting point:
"The chemicals used as criteria in the suit are called PFASs (pronounced “pee-fass”), and are unregulated at the federal level. [The suit asserts that these chemicals are found in 98% of Americans today].
In June, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), an arm of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued an updated draft toxicological profile for PFASs.
For drinking water, [the report recommends an] acceptable concentration of 7 parts per trillion of PFOS and 11 parts per trillion for PFOA, according to Laurel Schaider, a research scientist at the Silent Spring Institute. Right now, the EPA’s 2016 guidelines set an acceptable drinking water concentration for PFOA and PFOS at 70 parts per trillion, about ten times higher than the draft report’s thresholds.
... by the standards in the ATSDR report, a PFASs exposure greater than approximately two thousandth (0.002) of a drop [of water] in the average yearly water intake of an American adult could be considered potentially unsafe"
EPA limits (which are usually the federal action limit, not a recommended consumption limit): https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/data-statistics/plain-water-th...