Policy, health, and justice—focus of October meeting on PFAS contaminants in drinking water

October 13, 2020

Read the full article by Amber Neville (URI News)

The University of Rhode Island (URI) STEEP Superfund Research Center is hosting a conference, “PFAS In Our World: What We Know and What We Can Do,” October 13 and 14, 2020. The virtual event will focus on the expanding crisis of PFAS contaminants in our drinking water and the policy, health, and environmental justice implications. The conference will also emphasize the exchange of ideas among early-career scientists and how science can advance policies to protect communities from contamination.

Ian Cousins, professor of environmental organic chemistry at Stockholm University in Sweden, will deliver a keynote address on the essential and non-essential uses of PFAS—grouping PFAS according to their societal benefits and needs in order to facilitate their phase-out.

Other meeting highlights:

Linda Birnbaum, former head of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), will give a talk on environmental policy and how young scientists and voters can support effective policymaking.
Andrea Amico from Testing for Pease in New Hampshire and Mark Favors from Fountain Valley Clean Water Coalition in Colorado will share the perspective of communities disproportionately impacted by PFAS contamination.

Read the full program for “PFAS in Our World.”