The Heart of Healthcare | A Digital Health Podcast Sounding the Alarm on Forever Chemicals | Founder of the Green Science Policy Institute Arlene Blum
It’s in our water, our food, and so many other products we use on a daily basis, from non-stick pans to popcorn bags. And it’s making us really sick.
More and more scientists are becoming concerned that PFAS chemicals, also known as “forever chemicals,” are impacting human health. Evidence is growing that links these everyday exposures, particularly to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (or EDCs), are linked to cancer, infertility, birth defects, asthma, allergies, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and more.
In this episode, we talk to one of the world’s leading environmental health scientists and advocates about the impact of forever chemicals and what we can do about it. Arlene Blum is the founder and executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute. This is a replay from 2022.
We cover:
🧪 What are PFAS and why do they exist?
🔄 How do forever chemicals get into our bodies, and why does it matter?
👕 Her work in the 70's getting the gene-altering agent Tris, known to cause cancer, banned from the use in children's pajamas
⚖️ Why policymakers are so slow to take action
🛡️ How to keep yourself safe from forever chemicals
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About our guest:
Arlene Blum, PhD, biophysical chemist, author, and mountaineer, is a Research Associate in Chemistry at UC Berkeley and executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute. The Institute’s scientific research and policy work with government and business has contributed to preventing the use of “Six Classes” of harmful chemicals, including flame retardants and fluorinated chemicals, in children’s sleepwear, furniture, electronics, and other products worldwide.
Arlene Blum led the first American—and all-women’s—ascent of Annapurna I, considered one of the world’s most dangerous and difficult mountains, co-led the first women’s team to climb Denali; completed the Great Himalayan Traverse across the mountain regions of Bhutan, Nepal, and India; and hiked the length of the European Alps with her baby daughter on her back. She is the author of Annapurna: A Woman’s Place and Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life.
Blum’s awards include her 2018 induction into the California Hall of Fame, 2017 UC Berkeley International House Alumna of the Year, 2015 award for lifetime achievement of a Reed College graduate, selection by the UK Guardian as one of the “World’s 100 Most Inspiring Women”, National Women’s History Project selection as one of 100 “Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet,” selection as an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow, and election to the Hall of Mountaineering Excellence.
Arlene Blum received her PhD in Biophysical Chemistry from UC Berkeley and has taught at UC Berkeley, Stanford University, and Wellesley College. More information at www.greensciencepolicy.org and www.arleneblum.com
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