The Current: The Lethal History of Viscose Rayon

For well over a century, viscose rayon has been used to make clothes, tires, cellophane and everyday kitchen sponges. It was hailed as a wondrous new product when first introduced — but what most people didn’t know is how deadly manufacturing rayon was for the factory workers.

In his new book Fake Silk: The Lethal History of Viscose Rayon, Blanc, who is also a University of California professor of medicine, looks at how the manufacturing of viscose rayon served as a death sentence for many industry workers.

Here is a direct audio link.