LIVE: Investigating a Multibillion-Dollar Empire with AP, AJC and FRONTLINE

Why It Matters

By revealing corporate knowledge and systemic failures, the investigation pressures regulators to tighten PFAS oversight and shows that cross‑newsroom collaborations are essential to safeguard public health and press freedom.

Key Takeaways

• Carpet mills in Northwest Georgia released forever chemicals into waterways.
• EPA and 3M warned about chemicals, yet industry used substitutes.
• Investigative partnership uncovered emails proving industry knew health risks.
• Contaminated water and soil led to detectable chemicals in residents’ blood.
• Collaboration across AP, AJC, and Frontline demonstrates accountability journalism.

Summary

Day two of the Associated Press’s Press Freedom Week featured a live discussion on a multi‑newsroom investigation into the carpet‑manufacturing sector of Northwest Georgia. Reporters from the AP, the Atlanta Journal‑Constitution and PBS Frontline explained how the project combined reporting, documentary filmmaking and legal research to expose a decades‑long release of “forever chemicals” into the environment.

The investigation traced the use of per‑ and poly‑fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in stain‑resistant carpet treatments. Internal emails showed that 3M warned carpet makers of health risks before the EPA’s 2000 announcement, yet companies substituted one PFAS for another, keeping the contamination cycle alive. Wastewater treatment plants could not filter PFAS, allowing them to re‑enter rivers, drinking water, soils and eventually the blood of local residents.

Journalists described driving through the rolling hills of Rome, Calhoun and Dalton, noting the stark contrast between the region’s natural beauty and the invisible toxin spreading beneath it. On‑camera “door‑knocks” captured residents learning for the first time that their wells and fish contained PFAS, underscoring the human impact behind the data.

The series illustrates how accountability journalism can force corporate and regulatory accountability, prompting lawsuits and policy debates. It also demonstrates the power of collaborative reporting to marshal resources—legal, technical and financial—needed for complex, long‑term investigations that protect public health.

Original Description

A groundbreaking investigative collaboration by newsrooms including The Associated Press, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and FRONTLINE (PBS) revealed how the nation’s carpet manufacturing industry continued to use harmful chemicals for years, even as scientific evidence mounted that the consequences would be grave. Today, the chemicals are found in local water, soil, wildlife — and the blood of residents.

In this conversation, reporters and editors from the AP, the AJC and FRONTLINE will discuss the challenges of reporting this investigation, what it’s like to collaborate with journalists across multiple news outlets and the impacts public service journalism can have.