Silent Spring Institute

EPA has determined that breathing in formaldehyde, a chemical that’s used in building materials and hair straighteners, can cause cancer.

“In light of this assessment, there is no excuse for further delay. EPA needs to promptly finalize the formaldehyde risk evaluation and move on to risk management." - Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz, Earthjustice

EPA determines formaldehyde causes cancer, in step toward regulation The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that breathing in formaldehyde, a chemical that’s used in building materials and hair straighteners, can cause cancer.  In a toxicologi…

On September 10 at 3p.m. EDT, Silent Spring's Elissia Franklin and Robin Dodson will be speaking at The Black Beauty Breakdown, a three-day virtual symposium hosted by the Bench to Community Initiative. The event breaks down what Black women should know about harmful chemicals in personal care products and their links with increased breast cancer risk.

For more info and to register: https://www.bench2community.org/events

Not a good sign.😢

US air force avoids PFAS water cleanup, citing supreme court’s Chevron ruling EPA says Tucson’s drinking water is contaminated but air force claims agency lacks authority to order cleanup

MBCC is proud to share that the Massachusetts legislature has passed a bill to ban PFAS in firefighting protective gear! This is one of many steps to protect our communities from these dangerous chemicals. Thank you to all our partners and supporters for getting this done! Together, we will work towards a healthier future.

Great profile of Silent Spring's Deputy Director Amy Dale by her alma mater!

“It’s an incredible feeling to work at an organization where everyone, from our scientists to our accounting staff, is united in the pursuit of a powerful shared vision,” said Dale.

Alum Amy Dale was inspired by many female mentors throughout her career. Now, she is using her PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering to tackle environmental risk factors for breast cancer as Deputy Director of nonprofit research organization Silent Spring Institute.

https://cee.engineering.cmu.edu/news/2024/08/6-dale-alumni-feature.html

Victoria St. Martin at Inside Climate News makes the important connection between climate change, toxics, and health -- this is a great example of how environmental contaminants can make their way into the products we use every day that can impact women's health. Includes comments from Silent Spring's Robin Dodson. Check it out!

After a Study Found Lead in Tampons, Environmentalists Wonder if Global Metal Pollution Is Worse Than They Previously Thought - Inside Climate News Activists say the research marks a growing awareness connecting everyday life to the toxic contamination of the planet and ongoing harm to the climate. More research is examining how women are disproportionately impacted.

Massachusetts' legislators have until the end of July to vote on The Act to Protect Massachusetts Public Health from PFAS (H4486), a bill that bans PFAS in a wide range of everyday items including children’s car seats, rugs, upholstery, cookware, and personal care products.

Silent Spring scientists testified before the legislature on the health effects of PFAS and shared our research on this harmful class of chemicals.

If you want to get involved, reach out to your state legislators: https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator

Learn more about the bill: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/H4486

“We should be eliminating PFAS from all products, but particularly pesticides because you’re spraying them on crops, and there’s not a more direct way to expose the population than that.”

New study raises health concerns because of the persistence of PFAS in the environment and the potential to contaminate food and drinking water supplies.

PFAS widely added to US pesticides despite EPA denial, study finds Research shows ‘forever chemicals’ increasingly found in products as agency claims the chemicals aren’t being used

Silent Spring Institute is hiring a Staff Accountant! This is a great opportunity to gain experience in nonprofit grant accounting while playing a critical within a vibrant team working to advance breast cancer prevention and women's health.

We are seeking a detail-oriented and highly organized individual with a strong foundation in accounting principles who can assist with our day-to-day finance operations. We offer generous benefits including a hybrid work model, flexible work hours, four weeks of vacation, 12 sick days, two personal days and 12 holidays per year. Entry-level applicants will be considered. Apply today!

Employment We are always seeking applications from exceptional individuals who want to be part of our team.

Nonstick pans are just one source of exposure to toxic PFAS chemicals. Companies add PFAS to a wide variety of consumer products: carpets, upholstery, clothing, floor waxes, food packaging, ski wax, and even dental floss. And these exposures add up! Get tips on how to avoid PFAS in your daily lives by downloading Silent Spring's free Detox Me mobile app: detoxmeapp.org

What is ‘Teflon flu’? It’s linked to a coating on some nonstick pans. Confirmed cases of the illness remain rare, but scientists said some pans can burn off potentially harmful fumes if heated to very high temperatures.

Watch Channel 7's coverage of Silent Spring Institute's study on PFAS in drinking water on the Cape, where residents recently learned about their exposures through blood testing and how to engage with their doctors to monitor for potential health impacts.

Before 2016, levels of PFAS in the Hyannis water system were higher than in any other public water supply in Massachusetts. Although the water in Hyannis is now being treated to remove PFAS, scientists are concerned about the long-term health effects from exposures that happened in the past.

To learn more about the study, visit: https://silentspring.org/project/cdcatsdr-multi-site-health-study-pfas/massachusetts-pfas-and-your-health-study

https://whdh.com/7-investigates/7-investigates-dark-water/

7 Investigates: Dark Water - Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News HYANNIS, MASS. (WHDH) - In 2021, doctors diagnosed Jesse Tanguay with stage IV non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma when he was just 39 years old. His spleen andRead More

New study adds to growing evidence that exposure to harmful PFAS chemicals can impact a woman's ability to breastfeed. The study could help explain why so many women in the U.S. stop breastfeeding early.

For tips on reducing exposures to PFAS in products and around the home, download Silent Spring's Detox Me app: detoxmeapp.org.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/26/women-breastfeeding-forever-chemicals

Women exposed to ‘forever chemicals’ may risk shorter breastfeeding duration Higher PFAS exposure could cause lactation to slow or stop altogether within six months, new research finds

Silent Spring is seeking a staff account, a detail-oriented and highly organized individual to help with our day-to-day finance operations. This is a great opportunity to gain experience in nonprofit grant accounting while playing a critical role within a vibrant team that is addressing the health risks from toxic chemicals in our environment. Apply today!

Employment We are always seeking applications from exceptional individuals who want to be part of our team.

Silent Spring postdoctoral research fellow Dr. Abigail Bline presented at a legislative briefing today at the Massachusetts State House on the harmful impacts of PFAS contamination. Joining Dr. Bline was Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition's Programs and Advocacy Graduate Intern Claren Ruth.

Attendees heard from lawmakers, town administrators, homeowners, firefighters, environmental leaders, health experts, and more. Representative Kate Hogan and Senator Julian Cyr shared details about "An Act to protect Massachusetts public health from PFAS," a bill that aims to phase out PFAS in many consumer products, clean up existing PFAS contamination, and prevent future contamination in the Commonwealth.

“Doing everything we can to protect these littlest ones in the earliest stages of critical development is essential.”

Portable air filters in daycares can reduce indoor pollution by 85%: Study

Excellent article by Linda Villarosa in this week's The New York Times Magazine highlights the importance of health disparities research and holding companies accountable for putting toxic chemicals in products that disproportionately harm Black women.

Article mentions Silent Spring's studies on hormone-disrupting chemicals in Black women's hair products and the pioneering work by our wonderful collaborator Tamarra James-Todd!

The Disturbing Truth About Hair Relaxers They’ve been linked to reproductive disorders and cancers. Why are they still being marketed so aggressively to Black women?

AYER residents! Please join us this Thursday, June 13th, at 7:00 pm for an update on the Massachusetts PFAS & Your Health Study. Lead investigator Dr. Schaider will provide an overview of the study, a summary of PFAS blood test results for Ayer, guidance for participants on how to interpret their results, and resources to help residents reduce their exposures to PFAS and protect their health.

For event info, visit bit.ly/ma-pfas-ayer.

On Monday, residents in Hyannis attended a community event on the Cape to hear Silent Spring's Dr. Laurel Schaider present initial findings from the Massachusetts PFAS & Your Health Study -- an investigation of people’s exposures to PFAS in drinking water and potential impacts on their health.

Dr. Schaider provided an overview of the study, a summary of PFAS blood test results for Hyannis, guidance for study participants on how to interpret their results, and resources to help residents reduce their exposures and protect their health.

Soaring PFAS levels force a reckoning for worried Hyannis residents Researchers from the Silent Spring Institute revealed this week that, among Hyannis residents who lived in the community over a recent 10-year period, blood levels of PFHxS were about 3.2 times higher than the median for the general population. Those researchers are now beginning the work of underst...

We are thrilled to announce that Silent Spring Institute has named Dr. Mary Beth Terry, an internationally renowned cancer epidemiologist from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, as its new executive director.

“Silent Spring has been at the forefront in advancing science on breast cancer-causing chemicals, in translating science into policy, and in engaging communities in research,” says Dr. Terry. “The Institute’s scientists bring a wealth of knowledge about chemical exposures that are relevant to women’s health. I’m excited to lead this exceptional team to further advance Silent Spring’s mission.”

Read more: https://silentspring.org/news/columbia-universitys-dr-mary-beth-terry-named-executive-director-silent-spring-institute

Join us on Monday, June 3 at Barnstable Town Hall in Hyannis for an update on the Massachusetts PFAS & Your Health Study. Lead investigator, Dr. Laurel Schaider, will share preliminary findings from her team's investigation into people’s past exposures to PFAS contaminants from the drinking water in Hyannis and the potential impacts on their health.

For more event info, visit: https://bit.ly/ma-pfas-health

To this day, "the company and its scientists have not admitted wrong­doing or faced criminal liability for producing forever chemicals or for concealing their harms."

How is that possible?

Toxic Gaslighting: How 3M Executives Convinced a Scientist the Forever Chemicals She Found in Human Blood Were Safe Decades ago, Kris Hansen showed 3M that its PFAS chemicals were in people’s bodies. Her bosses halted her work. As the EPA now forces the removal of the chemicals from drinking water, she wrestles with the secrets that 3M kept from her and the world.

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released its biennial Cancer Disparities Progress Report, which includes important information on environmental risk factors, such as air pollution, drinking water contaminants, as well as endocrine disruptors and other harmful ingredients in products.

Also notable is the report's strong call to action to address ongoing disparities in cancer incidence and outcomes, including support for EPA's Cancer Moonshot Activities and the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.

Our colleague Dr. Mary Beth Terry at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health served on the steering committee that produced the report!

AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report The goal of the report is to increase public understanding of cancer health disparities and of the importance of research on disparities to save lives.

“That there are things you can do that actually reduce your chemical burdens is good news. But it’d be even better if products didn’t have bad chemicals in them in the first place.” - Dr. Kristin Knox, Silent Spring Institute

Scientists Are Finding Out Just How Toxic Your Stuff Is Independent labs are out to expose what's really in consumer products.

Happening this Sunday! 📽

This Sunday May 19th our film screening about on the Upper Cape and potential impacts on Mashpee Wampanoag community members will be accompanied by an incredible panel discussion! You don’t want to miss this!!

If you choose to participate in a breast cancer fundraising event this spring or summer, ask that your dollars go towards environmental health research focused on breast cancer prevention. Most breast cancer fundraising goes toward research on treatments or early detection, but why not focus on preventing women from getting cancer in the first place?

Whether it's finding new ways to identify chemicals in products that increase breast cancer risk or developing effective strategies to reduce people's exposure to cancer-causing chemicals in their everyday lives, your contributions can make a difference.

To learn more about Silent Spring's research on breast cancer and the environment, visit Silent Spring Institute's website at: https://silentspring.org/our-science.

On Sunday, May 19 at 11:30 a.m., the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and STEEP Superfund are hosting a film screening of the documentary “The Poison In Us All” produced by Bloomberg Investigates, followed by a panel discussion about PFAS in the environment on Cape Cod.

STEEP scientists will discuss their latest results from PFAS testing in locally caught fish and shellfish on the Upper Cape, and the potential impacts on Mashpee Wampanoag community members.

The event is free and open to the public. Please share with your networks! For more info: https://web.uri.edu/steep/filmscreening/

But they were right to halt the Women’s Health Initiative study in 2002 – because the type of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescribed to women back then clearly had more risks than benefits for older women! And many women were spared a diagnosis of breast cancer as a result.

Today, treatments have become more individualized, targeting those who need it the most – younger postmenopausal women (under 60) with significant symptoms – using lower doses prescribed for just a few years. For women with elevated risk of breast cancer, hormone therapy is still not recommended, and they should seek other options.

Hormones for menopause are safe, study finds. Here's what changed Women under 60 can benefit from hormone therapy to treat hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause. That's according to a new study, and is a departure from what women were told in the past.

Happy Earth Day from Silent Spring Institute, where we work every day to protect communities from harmful chemicals in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the products we use. Through our science, as well as our partnerships with communities, advocates, scientists, and policymakers, we are putting the world on a path toward a healthier environment, and one that will sustain us for generations to come.

PACE & Silent Spring Institute invites everyone to see this important film on PFAS with us: