Prenatal exposure to single chemicals belonging to the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) family is associated with biological perturbations in the mother, fetus, and placenta, plus adverse health outcomes. Despite our knowledge that humans are exposed to multiple PFAS, the potential joint effects of PFAS on the metabolome remain largely unknown. Here, we leveraged high-resolution metabolomics to identify metabolites and metabolic pathways perturbed by exposure to a PFAS mixture during…
PFAS, Phenols, and Parabens: Links to Hormone-Mediated Cancers
A number of cancers are hormone-mediated. These include prostate, breast, ovarian, endometrial, testicular, and thyroid cancer, as well as melanoma. Many industrial chemicals found in consumer products and in the environment are endocrine disruptors, and could influence risk of hormone-mediated cancers. Dr. Max Aung, JPB Fellow, presented the results of a recent study that examined the relationship between certain chemicals and risk of hormone-mediated cancers. Specifically, the study examined current…
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Attorney General Bonta Warns Companies of Responsibility to Disclose Presence of Dangerous PFAS
LOS ANGELES — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued an enforcement advisory letter to manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of food packaging and cookware, alerting them to their obligations under Assembly Bill 1200 (AB 1200). AB 1200 is a recently enacted statute that restricts the presence of PFAS in food packaging and imposes labeling disclosure requirements for cookware. Attorney General Bonta also issued a consumer alert with tips for reducing PFAS exposures. Commonly referred to as “forever chemicals,”…
Water Insecurity And Population Health: Implications For Health Equity And Policy
Water insecurity can have important implications for health and health equity. Achieving universal water security requires strategies to advance access to safe, reliable, affordable drinking water and equitable protection from water-related threats. Read more about JPB Fellow Lara Cushing.
‘Forever Chemical’ Replacements Detected In Human Bodies And Homes
As part of efforts to remove toxic forever chemicals from their products, manufacturers around the world are scrambling for safer replacements. However, studies have shown that some of these replacements are also dangerous and have already been detected in human urine and blood samples, household dust, and drinking water. PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances) are a class of chemicals that can be found in a range of everyday products, from…
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Elevated Levels of Ultrashort- and Short-Chain Perfluoroalkyl Acids in US Homes and People
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) make up a large group of fluorinated organic compounds extensively used in consumer products and industrial applications. Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), the two perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) with 8 carbons in their structure, have been phased out on a global scale because of their high environmental persistence and toxicity. As a result, shorter-chain PFAAs with less than 8 carbons in their structure are…
Food, Energy, and Water Security in the Wake of Disaster: A Community-Based Assessment
Project Objectives The primary objective in this project was to develop, pilot, and validate a standardized household survey to more precisely quantify public health impacts originating from coupled food, energy, and water (FEW) insecurities under compounding hazard contexts. The goal was to make this survey actionable and accessible, with the purpose of being used by community members to understand the current health and FEW needs, and outline prospective solutions. Learn…
Nature defined by racialization: A talk with Dr. Jennifer Roberts
The University of Connecticut welcomed Dr. Jennifer Roberts, an associate professor for the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland. Roberts discussed the relationship between race and nature in her talk, “We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Understanding the Racialization of Nature.” She began the lecture by referencing a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks. The line that Roberts felt most connected to and used was, “We are each other’s harvest:…
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Promoting Equitable Wildfire Recovery in Lahaina: Four Lessons for Local Leaders, from Colorado’s Marshall Fire
It’s been more than three months since a wildfire devastated Lahaina, a historic Hawaiian town on the island of Maui. Recovery after such disasters can take years to decades and often leaves communities less equitable than before. For the past two years, we’ve studied three Colorado communities’ recovery after the Marshall Fire—the most destructive wildfire in Colorado’s history. We understand there are key differences between Maui’s experience and Colorado’s—especially the incomprehensible…
‘Never seen anything like this: Native elders share knowledge at UM’
Sitting on a wool blanket inside a tipi on the University of Montana’s campus Oval, Tyson Running Wolf stuffed tobacco into a pipe. A fire in the center crackled, and the smell of burning sweetgrass filled the air. Once it was lit, Running Wolf passed the pipe to Leonard Traveller, a Blackfoot knowledge keeper, who came down from Canada for the ceremony. Before sharing a prayer, Traveller spoke of unity.…
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