Episode 21

Dr. David Kriebel is an epidemiologist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell.  

Dr. Kriebel discusses the known and suspected health risks associated with tattoo inks, tattoos, and the tattoo removal process.  As an epidemiologist, he implores scientists to actually conduct a study so we can use that information to help protect people.  

"Although a number of color additives are approved for use in cosmetics, none are approved for injection into the skin." FDA.  Tattoo inks can include untested toxic ingredients in colored synthetic dyes and pigments such as: mercury, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, aluminum, cinnabar, nickel, manganese, acrylic, and more.  One question might be, why do consumers feel tattoos are safe? 

In January of 2022 the European Union banned toxic tattoo inks and investigators in some European countries have begun studying not only the unsafe inks, but also the possibility of long-term health risks of tattoos. 
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Dr. Kriebel is also the Director of the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, which collaborates with industries, government agencies, unions, and community organizations on the redesign of systems of production to make them healthier and more environmentally sound.

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Episode 16

Laurene Allen is a clinical social worker who also became a citizen activist in 2016 when she and her community of Merrimack, NH learned they had been exposed to PFAS in their drinking water for 15-20 years from the Saint-Gobain factory (formerly called Chemfab).  Laurene co-founded Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water as they sorted through the sad realities of what extended exposures mean to public health. 
  
The scope of the problems with PFAS far exceeded her small town and Laurene joined other community leaders around the nation to co-found the National PFAS Contamination Coalition, to help people learn to use the available resources to learn about PFAS and protect themselves, with the support of others who understand and can share their roadmap.  

It is traumatic for communities to learn they have been exposed, and are sick or waiting for worried about getting sick and protecting their loved ones.  Laurene recommends that each household get a reverse osmosis water filter for drinking water, and directs people to these resources:
For stress: ATSDR
For community support and solidarity: NPCC
In the Merrimack area: MCFCW
And on this site's page: WMW Resources

Merrimack's PFAS water contamination story was documented, along with three similar towns, in the 2019 movie called Bad Water. Small Towns. Deaf Ears.  Director Victor Pytko says it's "Everything you need to know about PFAS, but don't know how to ask." Laurene is one of the featured activists in the film.

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Episode 15

Dr. Rachel Massey is Senior Associate Director and Policy Program Manager at the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. TURI's program was established as part of the Toxics Use Reduction Act of 1989, designed to protect public health and the environment while enhancing the competitiveness of MA businesses.

Three partners work together to make the Toxics Use Reduction legislation effective in reducing pollution:  
1. Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).
2. Office of Technical Assistance and Technology
3. TURI
This is the gold standard practice, in the field of toxics reduction.   They focus on reducing chemical hazards, not just limiting exposure.  This is how Massachusetts was able to reduced their toxic use by 234 million pounds.  Less chemicals, less exposures. 
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Rachel's work includes policy development and program management internally and throughout the state of Massachusetts. She also manages TURI’s community grant program.  Dr. Massey speaks on this show about examples of companies reducing toxics and saving money, such as dry cleaning vs. wet cleaning and artificial turf vs. organic grass fields.

For lots more information:
TURI's video page, click here. 
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Episode 13

Patrick MacRoy is the Deputy Director of Defend Our Health, a national non-profit, based in Maine, that builds a grassroots movement to drive toxics out of our food, water, homes and packaging.  
This past legislative session, Defend Our Health helped pass a first-in-the-nation ban on the spreading of sludge (Maine's inadvertent way of introducing PFAS and other chemicals into the soil of farmer's fields).  Patrick talks about this win, along with others.  He explains why Maine has been able to be so successful and highlights the courageous efforts of farmer Fred Stone, who was the first to speak up about the PFAS disaster in Maine farming.

Patrick, with his breadth of policy knowledge around all things PFAS, was able to also explain how the federal government (including the EPAand FDA) and the Chemical Industry (spearheaded by the American Chemistry Council) figure into our everyday realities around PFAS contaminated water and soil.

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Episode 8

Sarah Woodbury is the Director of Advocacy at Defend Our Health.   As a lobbyist, she works closely with legislators and coalition partners to advance Defend’s mission of fighting for safe products, food, and drinking water.  Her team has had some first-in-the-world success in a law to ban non-essential uses of PFAS by 2030. To read about Defend Our Health's accomplishments this legislative session, click here.  For more information on assistance for residential well water testing, click here. 

Sarah's  job is to get government to act, and she enjoyed a productive legislative session this spring, doing just that around firefighting foam, farmland biosolids ban, and  testing where sludge has already been spread, PFAS water standard at 20/ppt, water testing, and support on Penobscot and Passamaquoddy safe drinking water. 

Sarah has done similar lobbying and communications work, in DC, for the Anti-Defamation League and Planned Parenthood Federation of America, using her Master’s Degree in Applied Politics, from American University and her B.S. in Political Science, from Portland State University.  She was just born persuasive!

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Episode 6

Jeff Gearhart is the Research Director at the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor, MI.  He has product tested over 100,000 everyday items, including artificial turf.  

Artificial turf is an environmental health issue on a large scale, with around 13,000 artificial turf fields in use today, while we add about 1,500 more a year.  

Artificial Turf as a Public Health Concern:
Releases toxic chemicals including lead, PFAS, phthalates.
Causes environmental warming to air and waterways, crumb rubber infiltrates soil and water. 
Increases head and non-contact injuries.
Exposes children to toxic fumes and contacts and can cause endocrine disruption, metabolism, liver and thyroid issues, cancer, immune dysfunction. 

Jeff also underscores the expense of artificial turf (roughly 1M raised through community campaigns) for fields that require maintenance and only last 8-10 years.  And then they have to create toxic dumps for artificial turf waste (40,000 tires per field).   Jeff Gearhart says using organic grass fields is a matter of, "Reclaiming, our heritage of having natural, safer, healthy playing fields.  And I think it's about reclaiming the joy of sports and the joy of  the community."

Jeff Gearhart has co-authored many peer-reviewed articles on toxics in consumer products and suggests learning more about artificial turf from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Siani and the Toxic Use Reduction Institute.  

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