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Fake Silk: The Lethal History of Viscose Rayon
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About Fake Silk: The Lethal History Of Viscose Rayon
Product Description When a new technology makes people ill, how high does the body count have to be before protectives steps are taken? This disturbing book tells a dark story of hazardous manufacturing, poisonous materials, environmental abuses, political machinations, and economics trumping safety concerns. It explores the century-long history of “fake silk,” or cellulose viscose, used to produce such products as rayon textiles and tires, cellophane, and everyday kitchen sponges. Paul Blanc uncovers the grim history of a product that crippled and even served a death sentence to many industry workers while also releasing toxic carbon disulfide into the environment. Viscose, an innovative and lucrative product first introduced in the early twentieth century, quickly became a multinational corporate enterprise. Blanc investigates industry practices from the beginning through two highly profitable world wars, the midcentury export of hazardous manufacturing to developing countries, and the current “greenwashing” of viscose as an eco-friendly product. Deeply researched and boldly presented, this book brings to light an industrial hazard whose egregious history ranks with those of asbestos, lead, and mercury. Review “The book is well researched and clearly written, with a passionate concern for the impact of carbon disulphide on workers. . . this book will be very appealing to scholars as well as to general readers interested in the history of the rayon industry, the history of occupational health, or the unbridled use of toxic materials by industry.”—Peter Morris, Ambix "It is a fast paced and shocking tale. . . Rather than chart occupational health through a specific industry Fake Silk focuses on the substance, which permits a much broader and deeper reach into politics, economics, environmentalism and culture both in terms of both historical research and its audience."— Social History of Medicine “Action-packed . . . Reading Fake Silk, I could not help but wonder about the manufacturing process behind my T-shirt or the new dress hanging in my closet. Was someone harmed in the making of the kitchen sponge I just unwrapped?”— Science “A brilliant analysis of the history of carbon disulfide, and especially its use in the production of two classic consumer products of the twentieth century, rayon and cellophane. But of course, as with any good history, it is much more. . . . This transnational—indeed, international—history is breathtaking in its scope, for it encompasses economic, medical, industrial, labor, and cultural history in its purview. In short, this is an essential book for anyone interested in how a powerful industry can affect the health and well-being of workers and others across the globe."—Gerald Markowitz, American Journal of Industrial Medicine “[ Fake Silk], looking past the allure of silky rayon and cellophane, exposes the public health dangers of manufacture. This is a major and significant work.”— Choice Fake Silk reminds us that the productivist war is ongoing, and that we have all the scientific and technical capacity to bring it to an end: only political will is lacking.—Pascal Marichalar, Journal of Public Health Policy "It is unusual to find a book that successfully combines a discussion of contemporary pop culture, a detailed analysis of chemical production and a sweeping narrative of the pitfalls in regulating multinational businesses. The book is well paced and well written and will appeal to medical, business and labour historians as well as to those with an interest in writing the global history of a particular product or illness."—Julia Moses, Medical History "This book is recommended not only to the occupational health community but also to a more general audience who can be drawn into the drama over more than a century that Blanc unfolds. The silk may be fake, but this history is the real thing."—Howard Kipen, New Solutions: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Heal
