Help power Marketplace this winter when you support the show today. Donate Now!

Examining the toxic history of flame retardants

A look at how the flame retardant industry came to touch so many objects in our lives.
A fire-fighting air tanker drops fire retardant on the deadly 40,000-acre Esperanza Fire in the San Jacinto Mountains on Oct.28, 2006 west of Palm Springs near Banning, California. 
David McNew / Getty Images

The EPA says TCE causes cancer, so why hasn't it been banned?

Jul 26, 2018
With the chemical industry challenging the cancer link, the agency has held off on action.
A view of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters on March 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. 
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Industrial waste wells could be leaking underground

Jun 21, 2012
If these wells are leaking, they could contaminate water supplies and disrupt the most important way we dispose of liquid waste.

Toxic assets

Jan 21, 2009
If you've been following the problems encountered by the banks, you've probably come across the phrase "toxic assets." They've poisoned banks' balance sheets and brought them to the brink of failure. But what is a toxic asset, exactly? Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains.
Whiteboard Toxic Assets
Marketplace