Newsletters

October 2019: Dark Waters

Published in: Newsletters
October 17, 2019

Last weekend, our Institute hosted a fun book party in a lush Berkeley garden for environmental attorney Rob Bilott’s new book Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer’s Twenty-Year Battle against DuPont. Rob captivated over 100 of our friends and colleagues with his epic tales of defending communities with drinking water contaminated by PFAS, one of the most persistent and harmful classes of chemicals on the planet.…

September 2019: This is Ridiculous!

Published in: Newsletters
September 19, 2019

I hope you are enjoying the last days of summer. A lot is happening in the world of PFAS, the class of toxic “forever chemicals.”
Earlier this week, Home Depot announced they will stop selling carpets and rugs containing PFAS by the end of the year! This is great news as carpets have been a major source of PFAS exposure.…

August 2019: Guinea Pigs?

Published in: Newsletters
August 15, 2019

I hope you are having a relaxing summer. Keynoting the Oregon Clean Water Agencies meeting, I appreciated meeting and hiking with the hard-working and thoughtful people responsible for clean water for the state.…

June 2019: Highly Timely

Published in: Newsletters
June 20, 2019

I’m just back from fruitful East Coast meetings. Tom Bruton and I, along with attorney Rob Bilott and North Carolina scientist Detlef Knappe, led briefings and had meetings in the House and Senate where numerous bills are in play to reduce harm from PFAS. …

May 2019: Here Today, Here Tomorrow

Published in: Newsletters
May 9, 2019

I hope you are enjoying spring. To begin on a sad note, please see below my tribute to my good friend Bob Luedeka, who passed away last month after a long battle with cancer. Bob, the executive director of the Polyurethane Foam Association, was a strong advocate for stopping the use of toxic flame retardants in furniture.…

March 2019: A Killer Smile

Published in: Newsletters
March 28, 2019

I’m recently back from Washington, D.C. where I facilitated PFAS 101 discussions on highly fluorinated chemicals-or PFAS-for the PFAS House Task Force and with Senate staff. The increasing number of communities dealing with PFAS contamination is leading to considerable interest on the Hill in providing clean water for constituents and legislation to reduce contamination. Our message is: “PFAS are problematic and difficult to clean up, so prevention is preferable.”…

February 2019: A New Canary in the Coal Mine?

Published in: Newsletters
February 28, 2019

The last month has seen much activity around the chemical classes of flame retardants and highly fluorinated chemicals or PFAS. At our February 15 Flame Retardant Dilemma and Beyond Symposium at UC Berkeley, we were inspired by speakers such as Robert Bilott, the lawyer who successfully represents communities with PFAS-contaminated drinking water, and Pam Miller who helps Arctic peoples who have some of the world’s highest levels of these toxics in their bodies.…

January 2019: A Huge Success: Insulation Without Flame Retardants!

Published in: Newsletters
January 17, 2019

We are celebrating a huge victory! Yesterday the California State Building Commission ruled unanimously that California can safely update its codes to allow the choice of polystyrene building insulation without flame retardants below a concrete slab.
Building insulation–where there is no fire safety benefit–is one of the largest uses of toxic flame retardants. After many years of our scientific research and policy work towards healthier buildings, our Institute applauds this very positive first step. Big thanks to Green Science Policy staff who have led this work: Veena Singla, Avery Lindeman, Swati Rayasam, and Joe Charbonnet.…