At a time when people are fed up with big government and big corporations that drown out the voice of the everyday man and woman, The D.I.R.T. Committee stands up and shouts on behalf of every woman who has suffered at the hands of Dow Corning or any other corporation that sells harmful products at the expense of women's health and lives. In an Erin Brockovich sort of way, this book empowers all women and provides them with a voice.
Slick brochures filled with promises of safety, nods of assurance from surgeons, and their own strong desire for better self-esteem were often the last bits of affirmation that thousands of women relied on before making their final decision regarding breast augmentation. Many of them had done their research, and all of the information available to them indicated that the Dow Corning prostheses were harmless. Most of the women were very sick before they found out what Dow Corning knew right from the beginning - the implants were not safe.
The D.I.R.T. Committee is the true story of one woman, but could've been the story of any woman who was implanted with Dow Corning's prostheses. Gail Hamilton's story, from implant to illness and fight for survival, to investigation of incriminating Dow documents, to Dow settlement, runs parallel to the Dow Corning chemical gel breast prostheses story. The book contains well researched Dow Corning documentation and statements that, in themselves, tell the story of how Dow quite accidentally created the "safe" chemical gel. The implants made many women sick and were sometimes even responsible for the deaths of women. The documents also paint a sad picture of how Dow spun media reports and studies, and punished whistle blowers and journalists that dared to inform the public and provide timely, accurate information. The lives and health of the women depended on this shielded information. As a result, lives were lost, marriages and families were destroyed, careers were abandoned, and financial ruin was common for implanted women who had once been healthy, thriving, individuals.
Gail Hamilton Publishing, 2011
Softcover, 347 pages
