This is part of a special report on forever chemical contamination in Ohio. Ideastream Public Media reporters spent months investigating the impact of these chemicals and to answer the question, "How worried should we be?"
Read our report on how a study that foundforever chemicals in Ohio's freshwater fish and what that might mean for human health.
And check out our story on the Ohio attorney whose 20-year battle against chemical manufacturers brought forever chemicals to the public's attention.
New radio stories will drop every Tuesday in January, 2024.
PFAS are a group of synthetic chemicals commonly referred to as “forever chemicals,” that have been found almost everywhere in our environment. PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
They’ve been used for decades in products like ScotchGuard, firefighting foam and other consumer products. But they’ve recently gained awareness due, in part, to new research from the U.S. Geological Survey that found PFAS chemicals in nearly half of the country’s drinking water.
And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been monitoring PFAS levels in our blood since 1999.
But despite this data, there are still questions about the long term effects these chemicals have on human and environmental health. And, there’s concern from public health officials that people are largely unaware of the dangers of these chemicals, which toxicologists say have been linked to cancer among other health issues.
On Tuesday's "Sound of Ideas," we'll talk about a new Ideastream Public Media series that dives deep into PFAS, to answer an overarching question: “How worried should we be?”
Ideastream midday host and reporter Jeff St.Clair joins us in studio to tell us more about the series. Also in studio is Ideastream’s environment reporter, Zaria Johnson, who contributed to this series.
Then, we'll hear Ideastream Executive Editor Mike McIntyre's conversation with Mary Conway Sullivan on her new book, "What the Farm?"
Guests:
- Jeff St. Clair, Midday Host and Reporter, Ideastream
- Zaria Johnson, Environment Reporter, Ideastream
- Dr. Jamie DeWitt, Toxicologist, Oregon State University
- Dr. David Andrews, Senior Scientist, Environmental Working Group
- Mike McIntyre, Executive Editor, Ideastream Public Media
- Mary Conway Sullivan, Author, What The Farm?
