And I thought the thread was about Tom Hanks' next film - the sequel to Saving Private Ryan.
On a serious note though the symptoms of gross acne ring a bell from chemicals which were banned around 20 years back. Was it the group of substances known as Poly-chlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)? Wasn't Agent Orange - the defoliant used by US troops in (?) Viet Nam or Korea one of the group of chemicals?
I'm working from memory because I can't be bothered to go trawling through the 'net at this time of day.
Quack!!
GtD.