Tag: environmental health
PFAS Collaboration with Massachusetts Stakeholders
Defend Our Health is an organization rooted in grassroots environmental policy change at home, here in Maine. We work with Maine communities impacted by pollution to imagine a cleaner future, engage in the political process, and ultimately pass groundbreaking protections that make Maine a safer, healthier place to live. Recent successes include our first-in-the-nation legislation that… Read more »
Authors & Friends Recap
We were thrilled to be joined by author Sharon Udasin last week for a conversation on PFAS in the context of her book Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America. She was joined by Adam Nordell, our farmland contamination campaign manager, who joined our organization as a PFAS-impacted farmer. If you missed the webinar or… Read more »
Toxic-Free Tips: Reusables
Our food system is riddled with plastic, which is nowhere more prevalent than in food packaging. The FDA should rein in plastics and phthalates in the packaging that touches our food. That’s why we’re urging Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy to do just that in his role as the head of the department that… Read more »
What is PFAS?
Chances are, every one of us has encountered a chemical compound in the PFAS class today. Probably, in the last hour. PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, is a class of chemicals commonly used in consumer goods to waterproof or repel stains, grease, and dirt. Not only have we encountered them, but the CDC reports… Read more »
How Plastic Bottle Production Impacts Air Quality
This week is Air Quality Awareness Week. In alignment, we are highlighting the impact of plastic bottle production on air quality. In 2019, The World Health Organization found that 99% of the world’s population lived where the WHO air quality guidelines were unmet. They also estimated that 4.2 million premature deaths were caused by outdoor air pollution. … Read more »
The Global Plastics Treaty and Respiratory Health
Plastic production, use, and disposal threaten Earth’s communities, air, water, biodiversity, and soils. The Global Plastics Treaty seeks to address the issue of plastic pollution and course-correct our society for generations to come. One area of human life that can benefit significantly from robust global action is respiratory health. Microplastics in the air are detrimental… Read more »
The Impact of Toxic Emissions on Respiratory Health
Breathing is so second nature to many of us that you may think less about how your respiratory system works and what constitutes a threat to your health. In honor of Respiratory Care Week, we are diving into the impact of toxic emissions on respiratory health! Respiratory Care Week takes place from April 7th to… Read more »
Diane Wilson: The Fight Against Formosa Plastics Corporation
Diane Wilson is an award-winning environmental activist and author. She has won numerous awards for her work in environmentalism, but initially, this was something she never envisioned herself doing. In 1989, Diane Wilson was a shrimp boat captain at a fish house in Calhoun County, Texas, when a co-worker approached her with an article in their hand. What… Read more »
The Fight Against PFAS Contamination in Tennessee
Today, we focus our sights on Tennessee in our ongoing series highlighting PFAS contamination issues nationwide. In 2019, the company 3M admitted that it had illegally released toxic chemicals into the Tennessee River from its Decatur, AL manufacturing plant. 3M did this, although it had been barred from doing so under the US Toxic Substances… Read more »
How Plastic Pollution Disproportionately Impacts Communities of Color
In Defend Our Health’s scathing report titled Hidden Hazards: The Chemical Footprint of a Plastic Bottle we found that 64% of residents who face serious cancer risks from ethylene oxide omissions (a toxic chemical used in the production of plastic) are people of color. Many of these communities are located along the Gulf Coast, infamously… Read more »