Podcasts about pfoa

Send us Fan MailTurnout gear is supposed to be the last line of defense, so what happens when the fabric itself contains PFAS forever chemicals that were never clearly disclosed? This week, we pulled a crucial interview from our archives with Dr. Graham Peasley, the researcher who tested dozens of firefighter turnout gear sets and found fluorine consistent with PFAS treatments across manufacturers, enough that his lab changed how they handled the samples. We talk about what that discovery means for firefighters who wear the gear, touch it daily, and store it around the station and sometimes at home. We also slow down and make the numbers make sense. Parts per trillion versus parts per billion is not a trivia question when PFOA and PFOS have documented links to cancers and immune impacts at very low levels. We address the online pushback and the consultant op-ed culture head-on: how to evaluate sources, what “trace” really implies, and why uncertainty about skin absorption is not the same as safety. Along the way we cover real exposure pathways, from hand transfer to station dust, and how AFFF firefighting foam fits into the broader PFAS story. Then we get practical. We share straightforward steps departments can take now: keep gear at work, wash and decon consistently, rethink storage locations, and treat labeling and ingredient disclosure like essential safety information. We also dig into the hard end-of-life problem: landfilling vs high-temperature incineration, and why repurposing old gear into bags or blankets can create new risks. If you care about firefighter health, PFAS exposure, and fluorine-free turnout gear that still meets NFPA performance needs, this conversation gives you a clear place to start. Subscribe, share this with your crew, and leave a review so more firefighters can find it. What policy change would you implement first at your station?DISCLAIMERThe views, information, or opinions expressed by guests during this podcast are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of AFSO21's Weekend Wrap-up Podcast and its hosts. Furthermore, any views or opinions expressed by guests are their own alone and unless otherwise stated, do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, or official policies of any organization, institution, or employer they may be associated with or employed by.  Support the showContact AFSO21's Weekend Wrap-up Podcast - Email us at podcast@afso21.comAs always, keep supporting your local fire and emergency services, stay safe, and keep on listening!

The Trump administration is rescinding the drinking water regulations for four PFAS chemicals and extending the compliance deadline for the remaining two.  Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

Most people think their kitchen is the safest place in their home. The truth is the opposite. The cookware you use every day, the cutting boards you trust, the utensils you stir with, even the coffee maker on your counter, may be quietly leaching forever chemicals, microplastics, and heavy metals into your food and into your brain. In this episode, I sit down with Jordan Nathan, founder and CEO of Caraway, the brand redefining what nontoxic actually means in the modern home. Jordan walks me through the night he called poison control after overheating a Teflon pan, the 2-year journey to launch a cookware line free of PFAS, and why six U.S. states have now banned forever chemicals in cookware. We unpack what PFAS, PFOA, and PTFE actually are, why they accumulate in fat tissue and cross the blood brain barrier, and why scratched pans, plastic cutting boards, and black nylon utensils are some of the most dangerous things in your kitchen. Then we go deep on the science. I break down the Nature Medicine 2025 study showing microplastics in human brain tissue at higher concentrations than the liver or kidney, with the highest accumulation found in dementia brains. We cover the rise of autoimmune disease, the credit card's worth of plastic the average person consumes every week, Caraway's third party testing for over 600 PFAS chemicals, and a full kitchen audit on a $1,000 budget covering induction vs gas, dishwasher dangers, and what's coming next as Caraway expands into the broader nontoxic home. This conversation will completely change how you think about what is in your kitchen, what is in your body, and what you can actually do about it. Reduce your risk of Alzheimer's with my science-backed protocol for women 30+: https://go.neuroathletics.com.au/youtube-sales-page Subscribe to The Neuro Experience for evidence-based conversations at the intersection of brain science, longevity, and performance. _____ TOPICS DISCUSSED 00:00 Intro: Plastic Is Hiding in Plain Sight in Your Kitchen 01:36 The Night Jordan Called Poison Control Over a Teflon Pan 05:06 PFAS, PFOA, and PTFE: What Forever Chemicals Actually Are 09:35 Why PFAS Accumulate in Fat Tissue and Cross the Blood Brain Barrier 13:31 The Birth of Caraway and What the Name Actually Means 17:50 Why 6 States Have Banned PFAS in Cookware 19:22 Third Party Testing: How Caraway Tests for 600+ PFAS Chemicals 23:10 The Steve Jobs Mentality: Industry Standards Aren't Our Standards 29:31 Scratched Pans, Plastic Cutting Boards, and the Hidden Risks 33:18 Microplastics Found in Human Brain Tissue: The 2025 Study 37:28 Caraway's Bestsellers and the Expansion Into the Whole Home 40:20 Cast Iron, Stainless Steel, and How to Choose Cookware 41:29 Why You Should Never Put Cookware in the Dishwasher 43:02 Gas vs Induction Stoves: Which One Is Actually Safer 44:30 The Full $1,000 Kitchen Audit: Where to Start 49:21 Black Plastic, Nylon Utensils, and the Truth About Takeout Containers 51:00 One Thing Jordan Wishes He Knew About the Average Kitchen _______ Thank you to our sponsors DailyBasis: https://www.dailybasislife.com/NEURO for 50% off first month JSHealth: https://jshealthvitamins.com and use code NEURO for 20% off BASED Bodyworks: https://basedbodyworks.com/ and use code NEURO for 20% off _______ I'm Louisa Nicola - clinical neurophysiologist - Alzheimer's prevention specialist - founder of Neuro Athletics. My mission is to translate cutting-edge neuroscience into actionable strategies for cognitive longevity, peak performance, and brain disease prevention. If you're committed to optimizing your brain- reducing Alzheimer's risk - and staying mentally sharp for life, you're in the right place. Stay sharp. Stay informed. Join thousands who subscribe to the Neuro Athletics Newsletter → https://bit.ly/3ewI5P0 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louisanicola_/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/louisanicola_ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EPA has pushed back the TSCA reporting rule yet again! The submission period for the PFAS Reporting Rule will begin on January 31, 2027, or 60 days following the effective date of a forthcoming final rule on the substantive requirements of the PFAS Reporting Rule, whichever is earlier. Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

HRP's Jackie Baxley joins us to talk about the new PFAS chemical added to the Toxic Release Inventory. We've got what you need to know. Upcoming webinar: Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

As per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) continue to dominate legal and scientific headlines across the country, more attention is focused on the diligence process performed before buying, selling or redeveloping contaminated properties. U.S. EPA recently published some frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the impact of its designation of two PFAS compounds, PFOA and PFOS, as CERCLA hazardous substances on Brownfield grant funding and liability protection. In this episode of Environmental L.A.W.S., Joel Eagle and Heather Richardson speak with Tom Simmons, Dan Titus and Mark Wright of HRP Associates about the EPA Brownfields FAQ and other PFAS issues including: Federal and state PFAS regulatory updates Strategies for addressing PFAS in real estate and corporate transactions Additional PFAS risk mitigation strategies PFAS concerns now affect a wide range of legal, corporate and scientific disciplines and permeate many aspects of daily life, making this episode relevant to all.

As per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) continue to dominate legal and scientific headlines across the country, more attention is focused on the diligence process performed before buying, selling or redeveloping contaminated properties. U.S. EPA recently published some frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the impact of its designation of two PFAS compounds, PFOA and PFOS, as CERCLA hazardous substances on Brownfield grant funding and liability protection. In this episode of Environmental L.A.W.S., Joel Eagle and Heather Richardson speak with Tom Simmons, Dan Titus and Mark Wright of HRP Associates about the EPA Brownfields FAQ and other PFAS issues including: Federal and state PFAS regulatory updates Strategies for addressing PFAS in real estate and corporate transactions Additional PFAS risk mitigation strategies PFAS concerns now affect a wide range of legal, corporate and scientific disciplines and permeate many aspects of daily life, making this episode relevant to all.

Our friends, Joel Eagle and Heather Richardson, both Partners at Thompson Hine, join HRP's Dan Titus and Mark Wright to talk about the intersection of PFAS and Brownfields. Our wide-ranging conversation covered the liability concerns of Brownfield owners, legal defenses, best practices for consultant's like HRP, and more!   Thompson Hine, LLP: Professionals | Thompson Hine LLP   Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

Join us as we breakdown the disqualifications of several winter Olympians at the 2026 games, due to PFAS. We'll talk about where the PFAS came from, the rules around it, and the testing conducted to determine its source. You can find links to the articles discussed on HRP's PFAS Pulse. Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

Program will fund filters for PFAS contamination Property owners in Dutchess and Putnam counties will soon be able to be reimbursed for testing their wells and installing filters if they exceed limits for a family of chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems. Both counties have been selected for a state pilot program to address private wells contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Known as "forever chemicals" because of their persistence in the environment and the human body, PFAS have been used for decades in nonstick cookware, water-repellent clothing and other consumer products, as well as firefighting foams. Researchers have linked them to various health problems, including cancer, low birthweights and high cholesterol. Health concerns have led officials to close contaminated water sources serving the City of Newburgh and other municipalities, and supply filters to well owners in Dutchess and Putnam, including Mahopac and Putnam Valley. According to a groundwater study completed nearly 20 years ago, half of Philipstown's 9,400 residents at the time relied on well water. While Dutchess has yet to finalize details, Rian Rodriguez, Putnam's public health director, told the Legislature's Health Committee on Feb. 11 that the state chose for the pilot six counties "at higher risk" of PFAS contamination. "The goal is to reduce exposure to PFAS from private wells in communities more likely to be impacted, and assess the feasibility for a more comprehensive, statewide program," he said. Homeowners and business owners in Philipstown and other parts of Putnam should be able to begin applying for the county's $1.5 million allocation by June, said Brian Stevens, an associate public health sanitarian with the Health Department. If testing, which can cost hundreds of dollars, confirms levels exceeding the state guideline of 10 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS (the two most common versions of the chemicals), homes and businesses can be reimbursed up to $5,000 for installing "point-of-entry" filtration systems on their main water lines. The state will also subsidize up to $1,000 for "point-of-use" filters installed on faucets or other outlets where water is dispensed, up to $10,000 to connect a property to a public water system and up to $1,500 for ongoing testing and maintenance. New York and the federal Environmental Protection Agency regulate limits on PFAS in public drinking water supplies, such as the reservoirs that serve residents of Beacon and Cold Spring. But the estimated 1 million homes and businesses in New York state that rely on wells must test on their own unless they are part of a larger investigation tied to a verified source of major pollution. Dozens of properties near the Mahopac Business District received point-of-entry filters from the state after testing showed more than 100 private wells in the area had PFAS levels above state limits. The state began testing after discovering chemicals in monitoring wells installed during the district's cleanup of volatile organic compounds and other toxic substances linked to the use of dry-cleaning chemicals. New York has also allocated funds to the Town of Kent, the Birch Hill Acres and Starr Ridge Manor communities in Brewster, and Floradan Estates in Putnam Valley to address PFAS contamination through filtration systems. One such system is filtering water used by students and staff at Putnam Valley Elementary School, whose well once showed levels of 38.3 parts per trillion for PFOS and 23.3 ppt for PFOA. The district blames the problem on the Putnam Valley Fire Department's use of PFAS foams at its firehouses. State funding is also being used by the Dutchess County Water and Wastewater Authority to connect two water systems with PFAS-tainted wells to Hyde Park, which draws water from the Hudson River. The federal government estimates that as many as 50 percent of U.S. households have some level of PFAS in their water — whether from a wel...

Here are your PFAS headlines from across the USA! In New Jersey we have a new ban on PFAS products! Next up is the Great Lakes region and the state of Wisconsin. We've seen a big fight over PFAS in particular in Wisconsin, where state lawmakers are trying to figure out how and where to set their PFAS limits. We've got even more happening in the state as we turn now to the small town of Stella where residents have been dealing with the fallout of contamination from a paper mill. Jumping over now to North Carolina where a study done across the state found PFAS concentrations above federal limits. Hosts Tom Simmons and Matthew Wallace are here to break it down. Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

Welcome to the Water Quality Association podcast. Eric Yeggy, MWS, WQA's Technical Affairs Director, joins the podcast for one of our most popular annual episodes: top contaminant concerns and technical priorities for the year ahead. Eric begins with a recap of WQA technical affairs work in advocacy and education, standards engagement, and member-facing research tools. He explains why overlapping or poorly validated standards create confusion for regulators and inspectors, can drive duplicate testing, and may increase costs that ultimately reach end users. He then reviews last year's contaminant predictions—lead and PFAS remaining in the spotlight, ongoing arsenic concerns, and growing attention on disinfection byproducts, including new research into unregulated compounds. Looking ahead to 2026, Eric addresses the question many members are asking: whether EPA will drop proposed drinking water regulation for PFOA and PFOS, and why he believes that is unlikely. He also highlights key issues to watch in Lead and Copper Rule implementation (including how “disturbance” is interpreted) and flags lithium as an emerging topic worth monitoring. The episode closes with actionable steps for members: education programs, technical support requests, webinars, and WQA Convention (April, Miami Beach -- https://wqa.org/convention).

Industrial firefighting foams are an essential part of on-site safety in UK factories. But for decades some of these familiar canisters contained potentially dangerous, toxic chemicals. File on 4 Investigates discovers that 3M the multi-billion dollar chemical company responsible for producing the chemicals knew about the risks as early as the 1960s because their own internal studies on animals and tests on workers indicated a possible increase in rates of cancer. Despite this, the company failed to warn its workers of the dangers associated with using the foams for decades and was involved in an environmental accident at one of its sites that led to the chemicals being released into a Welsh river.The programme obtained never seen before documents showing the regulator warning the company it thought it had committed an offence but choosing not to prosecute it.In 2004, with evidence of the risks to the environment of the two specific forever chemicals PFOS and PFOA, a report commissioned by the government recommended any remaining firefighting foams containing the chemicals be incinerated. But we discover in the years after that companies struggled to dispose of legacy stock of foams, and, appearing unaware of the unofficial advice, discharged them straight into the sewer with no treatment, in one case with permission from the water company.3M said that the health and safety of its workers and their families were “critical priorities" for the company.Reporter: Esme Stallard Producer: Anna Meisel Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott

As a modern mom wrapping up the 12 Holiday Rituals with a $5,500 wellness giveaway, I'm sharing why your pots and pans might be one of the biggest hidden threats to your hormones, fertility, and long-term vitality – and why I trust non-toxic ceramic cookware like Caraway in my own kitchen. From "forever chemicals" in Teflon to microplastics in coffee lids and clothes, this episode is a gentle wake-up call to rethink the tools you cook with every day, especially if you're trying to conceive, are pregnant, postpartum, or raising little ones. We talk about intuitive longevity, slow swaps, and how to build a beautiful, low-tox kitchen without blowing your budget overnight. Join my 12 Holiday Rituals Giveaway for a chance to win part of $5,500+ USD in wellness prizes. Open until December 24th! WE TALK ABOUT:  01:05 - Why cookware is one of the highest toxin exposures in your home 02:10 - How PFAS, PFOA, Teflon and heavy metals build up in your body and disrupt hormones 04:40 - What makes Caraway different: non-toxic ceramic, PFOA- and PTFE-free design 06:00 - Why "healthy" organic meals still aren't healthy if you cook them on scratched non-stick 07:30 - Caraway vs cast iron: weight, ease of cleaning, and what actually works for busy moms 10:50 - Planning your next swap: Why I'm moving to ceramic bakeware next 12:20 - How to build a non-toxic kitchen slowly without spending thousands at once 15:00 - How to audit your current cookware, what to toss, and what to keep RESOURCES: Free gift: Download my hormone-balancing, fertility-boosting chocolate recipe. Explore my luxury retreats and wellness events for women. Shop my faves: Check out my Amazon storefront for wellness essentials. Caraway website and Instagram Join my 12 Holiday Rituals Giveaway before December 24th LET'S CONNECT: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook Shop my favorite health products Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music  

Join HRP's Tom Simmons and Mattew Wallace as we walk through submitting a public comment on regulations.gov. The public comment period accompanies any new rule or proposed change in rule. It's an opportunity for the general public to speak on these rules and have their voices entered into the record. Check our YouTube channel to see what we're talking about!  Our YouTube VideoRegulations.gov - This is the main site to submit to.Commenting on EPA Dockets | US EPA - This site lists how to properly write a comment.About EPA Dockets | US EPAWhere to Send Comments for EPA Dockets | US EPA - This lists how to send physical letters as comments Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

The state of Maine has been a leader on the PFAS issue, but it's also one beset by unique challenges. On this episode, hosts Tom Simmons and Matthew Wallace talk about the big problem Maine is facing, biosolid sludge. Wastewater treatment facilities produce a biosolid byproduct. For decades, this sludge was repurposed as fertilizer, but since treatment facilities still cannot deal with PFAS, the sludge moved the PFAS from the fertilizer, into the soil, the groundwater, the crops and animals, and ultimately, the people of Maine. Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

Hosts Matthew Wallace and Tom Simmons talk about the EPA's new proposed rule change to how TSCA looks at PFAS. While the rule change is only "Purposed" its ramifications could be far reaching. Regardless, another delay in reporting is certain.  Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

In this episode of the PFAS Pulse Podcast, Host Tom Simmons and Matthew Wallace are joined by HRP's Sam Muller, to discuss a recent study, which demonstrated that PFAS are far more acidic than previously thought. What does that mean? We'll break it down! Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

From The Vault

In this series, HRP's Brooke Casella is asking, what is PFAS? HRP's PFAS experts will each share their perspective on the question, answering not only, what is PFAS, but what does PFAS mean in the specific context and discipline where they operate.On the first episode, Tom Simmons, head of content for HRP Associates, and host of this podcast, share's his perspective. Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

 “The winning combination will include not just removal—but real destruction of PFAS.” - Brian Liotta PFAS: The Invisible Challenge Reshaping Water Treatment  PFAS chemicals are everywhere—from consumer products to our bloodstream. But as regulations tighten, water treatment professionals must now evolve faster than ever. In this episode of Scaling UP! H2O, host Trace Blackmore speaks with Brian Liotta, Director of Marketing and Product Development at USALCO, about the shifting regulatory landscape and the advanced technologies being developed to monitor, remove, and destroy PFAS compounds. From Industry Curiosity to Regulatory Urgency  Brian candidly shares how he “fell into” the world of PFAS, sparked by client questions and his work with AWT's Wastewater Subcommittee. Over time, he became one of the industry's clearest voices on how PFAS is transforming everything from chemical manufacturing to compliance practices. In this conversation, Brian breaks down the science, the timeline, and the technologies professionals need to understand—whether they're manufacturers, consultants, or field engineers. Testing, Treatment, and Destruction: What's Working and What's Coming  Testing for PFAS isn't straightforward. Brian outlines why high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry are still standard, despite the lack of affordable, field-ready kits. Then, he walks us through the big three: granular activated carbon, ion exchange, and membrane filtration—explaining how each performs and what their operational limits are. He also introduces lesser-known but emerging strategies like foam fractionation, electrostatic concentration, and supercritical water oxidation—some of which could shape the next generation of end-to-end PFAS solutions.  The Legal Front: EPA Rules, State Action, and the Chevron Doctrine  The conversation turns toward the regulatory environment: from the EPA's national drinking water standard of 4 parts per trillion to individual state actions in California, Maine, New York, and others. Brian unpacks the implications of the Chevron Doctrine being overturned and why this legal shift may slow federal implementation but accelerate state-led policies. What It Means for Water Treatment Professionals  Whether you're new to industrial water or managing a large portfolio, Brian delivers a simple but powerful takeaway: understand the regulations, study the technologies, and provide solutions. With PFAS-related services on the rise, the opportunity for technical leadership and business growth is clear—but only for those who do their homework and move early.  Conclusion  PFAS isn't just a regulatory buzzword—it's a catalyst for innovation. As Brian notes, the most successful professionals will be those who bridge the gap between evolving science and real-world application. This episode equips you with a deeper understanding of what's at stake and how to lead your customers through uncertainty with confidence. Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!    Timestamps   10:35 – Water You Know with James McDonald  12:52 – Upcoming Events for Water Treatment Professionals   18:06 – Interview with Brian Liotta Director of Marketing & Product Development of USALCO   22:15 — What is PFAS?   26:00 — EPA's new 4 parts per trillion PFAS drinking water standard and what it means 32:06 — Treatment technologies: GAC, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, and their pros and cons 37:32 — Emerging innovations: foam fractionation, electrostatic concentration, and plasma-based destruction 42:00 — State-by-state PFAS regulations and implications of the Chevron Doctrine ruling 46:20 — Advice to new water professionals: understand the regulations, then bring the right solutions   Quotes  “Regulation drives our business. If you're not paying attention, you're not preparing your customers.” “PFAS are in our water, our products, even our bloodstream. This isn't hype—it's science catching up.” “Some of the smartest people I know ask a lot of questions. Curiosity is how you become valuable.”  “We're seeing companies build end-to-end treatment trains. That's where the innovation is happening.”    Connect with Brian Liotta  Phone: 15102747326  Email: bliotta@usalco.com   Website: Water Treatment Chemicals - Baltimore, MD | USALCO  LinkedIn: Brian Liotta | LinkedIn  Click HERE to Download Episode's Discussion Guide    Guest Resources Mentioned   Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council (ITRC) ITRC Resources Guide   ITRC PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances)   Join ITRC PFAS Team  EPA PFAS Resource Center  Battelle PFAS ANNIHILATOR® Destruction Technology  Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs  This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin  Brooks: The Biography of Brooks Robinson  EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for PFAS (2023)   Chevron Doctrine Overturn (2024) – Supreme Court Decision  EPA Announces It Will Keep Maximum Contaminant Levels for PFOA, PFOS   EPA's Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Sewage Sludge  EPA's Summary of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)  MIT News ‘ A new sensor detects harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water ‘  AWWA's Journal: Treating PFAS-Laden Waste Using Aqueous Electrostatic Concentration   California adopts health-protective goals for forever chemicals in drinking water  Colorado PFAS Restrictions  Maine PFAS   Maryland PFAS   Maryland PFAS in Biosolids Regulatory Update – August 20, 2024    Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned  AWT (Association of Water Technologies)  Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses  Submit a Show Idea  The Rising Tide Mastermind Ep 410 Unleash Your Pricing Power: Casey Brown's ‘Fearless Pricing' Revolutionizes Business Value  Ep 408 Pinks and Blues: The Power of Processes  Fearless Pricing: Ignite Your Team, Own Your Value, and Command What You Deserve by Casey Brown    Water You Know with James McDonald  Question: If you place a small amount of concentrated hydrochloric acid on a deposit sample and it bubbles, what is this likely to indicate?    2025 Events for Water Professionals  Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we've listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE.   

Story at-a-glance A specific type of fiber called beta-glucan, found in oats and barley, was shown to reduce levels of harmful PFAS chemicals in the blood within just four weeks Participants who consumed beta-glucan experienced significant drops in legacy PFAS compounds like PFOA and PFOS, which are linked to cancer and hormone disruption The fiber group was the only one to show a meaningful reduction in the seven most high-risk PFAS chemicals identified by the National Academies of Sciences, including those that raise your risk for thyroid disease, cancer and ulcerative colitis In a follow-up study using mice, animals exposed to high PFAS levels but fed beta-glucan had lower blood PFAS, improved fat metabolism and less liver stress compared to controls The key to beta-glucan's effect is its gel-forming action in your gut, which traps PFAS and interrupts their reabsorption cycle, allowing your body to eliminate them through stool

Obesogens are chemicals that disrupt the body's normal controls and promote fat cell formation (adipogenesis) and lipid accumulation. These can potentially lead to obesity. Common types of obesogens include BPA, phthalates, herbicides, pesticides, PFOA and nonstick cookware and food additives. Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara reveals how obesogens affect your body - and how you can minimise your exposure. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Co-host Matthew Wallace just completed his first PFAS sampling!Here's a breakdown of what we wanted to know from the EHS&S Professional:We thought a little breakdown of Do you do much sampling generally?Without telling us who the client was, or giving away too much, can you tell us what the facility was, what it was like?What kind of sampling was this?What was the preparation that you have to for PFAS specifically?What were the special considerations for this particular event? Things you thought about doing, changes up  Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

Join hosts Tom Simmons and Matthew Wallace, joined by HRP's EHS&S Practice Leader, Jackie Baxley, as we break down the new deadline for PFAS TSCA reporting.EPA announced an interim final rule which extended the dates of the reporting period for data submissions for the TSCA PFAS reporting rule. Submissions are now due by October 13, 2026, for most manufacturers. Small businesses reporting data solely on importing PFAS contained in articles have until April 13, 2027, to submit reports. This rule provides much needed time for the regulated community to assess its manufacturing (including import) from 2011 to 2022 relative to PFAS.  Prior to this rule being published, the reporting period was set to open this July with reports due January 11, 2026. For more information on this rule, refer to HRP's webinar presented February 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNalxzfPxog  Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

This Day in Legal History: Standard Oil Breaks UpOn May 15, 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States, finding that Standard Oil had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by engaging in monopolistic practices. The Court unanimously ruled that Standard Oil's dominance over the oil industry—achieved through aggressive acquisitions, predatory pricing, and exclusive agreements—constituted an illegal restraint of trade. As a remedy, the Court ordered the breakup of Standard Oil into 34 separate and independent companies, a dramatic reshaping of the American oil landscape. Among the entities created were companies that would later become industry giants in their own right, including Exxon, Mobil, Chevron, and Amoco.The decision was a defining moment in U.S. antitrust enforcement, signaling the federal government's willingness to confront corporate consolidation. It aimed to restore competition and prevent the recurrence of monopolistic control in vital sectors of the economy. However, over the next century, many of the separated entities gradually reconsolidated. Notably, Exxon and Mobil merged in 1999 to form ExxonMobil, while Chevron absorbed both Gulf Oil and Texaco, and BP later acquired Amoco.Today, a majority of the original 34 companies—or their direct successors—are now part of just a few massive corporations. This reconsolidation serves as a cautionary tale: without vigilant antitrust enforcement post-breakup, market dominance can re-emerge in new forms. The Standard Oil saga demonstrates not only the power of antitrust law but also its limitations if not actively maintained. It underscores that breaking up monopolies is only one step—the preservation of competition requires ongoing oversight.The EPA announced it will weaken several Biden-era regulations on PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” in drinking water. Specifically, the agency plans to rescind enforceable limits on three types of PFAS—PFNA, PFHxS, and HFPO-DA (also known as GenX)—as well as on combinations of those and PFBS. At the same time, the EPA is giving water systems two extra years, until 2031, to comply with limits on PFOA and PFOS, the two most well-known and studied PFAS chemicals, citing the challenges especially for smaller and rural systems.The original Biden administration rule had set an enforceable limit of 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and PFOS and a non-enforceable goal of zero exposure due to their cancer and health risks. The EPA says it will revisit its regulatory decisions on the other PFAS types it is now rolling back. Administrator Lee Zeldin framed the delay as necessary flexibility while maintaining protections against the most harmful chemicals, but environmental groups like the Environmental Working Group blasted the move as a concession to industry that puts public health at risk. Some state-level regulators expressed caution and said more time is needed to evaluate the impact of rescinding the additional PFAS limits.EPA Moves to Weaken Biden-era PFAS Limits for Drinking WaterU.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared before Congress for the first time in his new role, facing bipartisan scrutiny over his department's proposed 2026 budget, mass layoffs, and his response to a growing measles outbreak. Since taking office in February, Kennedy has overseen the dismissal of roughly 10,000 workers across major health agencies, aligning with broader Trump administration efforts to downsize the federal government. His budget plan calls for deep cuts, including $18 billion from the National Institutes of Health and $3.6 billion from the CDC.Lawmakers questioned Kennedy's controversial stance on vaccines—particularly during an outbreak that has resulted in over 1,000 infections and three deaths, largely among unvaccinated populations. Representative Rosa DeLauro accused Kennedy of promoting misinformation and endangering public health. Senator Bill Cassidy, who supported Kennedy's confirmation based on promises to uphold vaccine access and collaborate with Congress, emphasized the need for transparency and reassurance amid sweeping departmental changes.Kennedy defended the workforce reductions as a return to pre-COVID staffing levels and projected $1.8 billion in annual savings. Still, critics view the cuts as harmful to the country's public health infrastructure. His personal conduct also drew scrutiny after posting photos of himself swimming in Rock Creek, a site banned for public use due to unsafe water conditions.US health chief Kennedy faces lawmakers' questions on mass firings, measles | ReutersA growing number of major U.S. companies are proposing to leave Delaware as their state of incorporation—a trend being called “Dexit”—following Elon Musk's public fallout with Delaware courts. At least nine publicly traded companies, each valued over $1 billion, are preparing shareholder votes to move their legal homes, while five, including Tesla and Trump Media, have already relocated to states like Texas, Florida, and Nevada. The exodus is driven by concerns over Delaware's increasingly strict scrutiny of deals involving controlling shareholders, highlighted by a 2024 court ruling voiding Musk's $56 billion Tesla pay package.Companies say Delaware's legal environment has become unpredictable, especially for founder-led or insider-controlled firms. By contrast, states like Nevada and Texas offer looser standards and greater protection from shareholder litigation. For example, Nevada's laws shield corporate boards under the business judgment rule unless there is fraud, while Delaware courts still require fairness and transparency in insider transactions.In response, Delaware recently passed laws to limit judicial review of certain deals and curb shareholders' access to corporate records, hoping to stem the corporate departures. Still, critics like legal scholars and corporate counsel argue that Delaware's courts are now perceived as activist and uncertain, prompting companies to seek jurisdictions they believe offer more legal stability and control.In Tesla's wake, more big companies propose voting “Dexit" to depart Delaware | Reuters This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

Join hosts Tom Simmons and Matthew Wallace as we talk to Jonathan Thorn, Technical Director and PFAS Practice Leader, at Eurofins, as debunk the biggest myths and misconceptions around PFAS from the perspective of the lab.Jonathan Thorn has worked in the field of environmental analytical chemistry for over 28 years. For the last eight years, his primary focus has been the analysis of PFAS in environmental samples, focusing on development and implementation of analytical methods in difficult matrices, including ground water, wastewater, landfill leachate, sediment, soil, biosolids, environmental tissues, agricultural products, and animal blood. Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

Ripped from the Pulse! Your PFAS headlines for the month of April.We're talking big moves from Trump's EPA to end PFAS bans and eliminate research grants.On the research front, we also take a peek at nanocage PFAS tech!And we talk about new anti-PFAS lobbying efforts from unexpected areas.All articles and studies can be found, linked, on the PFAS Pulse!  Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

Hey Collectors! On this episode of the Hoardganize Podcast I discuss how to declutter your kitchen of potentially toxic items. Below are some of the utensils and cookware that may contain chemicals that are harmful to you and your family (don't forget your fur kids either).  Utensils & Cookware That May Contain Chemicals 1. Nonstick Cookware (Teflon) Chemical: PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) and formerly PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) Risk: At high temperatures (over 500°F), nonstick coatings can break down and release toxic fumes. Tip: Use nonstick only on low/medium heat, avoid scratched pans, or switch to ceramic-coated alternatives. 2. Plastic Utensils & Storage Chemical: BPA, phthalates, and other plasticizers Risk: Heat (like dishwashers or microwaving) can cause plastics to leach these into food. Tip: Use BPA-free plastics, or switch to glass, stainless steel, or silicone. 3. Aluminum Cookware (especially uncoated) Chemical: Aluminum Risk: Acidic foods (like tomato sauce) can cause leaching; long-term exposure to aluminum is under investigation for health impacts. Tip: Use anodized aluminum or switch to stainless steel. 4. Copper Cookware Chemical: Copper Risk: Can leach into food if not lined (usually with stainless steel or tin). Too much copper can be toxic. Tip: Use only lined copper cookware. 5. Melamine Dishes Chemical: Melamine Risk: Can leach into food, especially when microwaved or used with hot foods. Tip: Avoid microwaving melamine and use ceramic/glass for heating. Remember, you can always see our episodes in person, on our youtube channel! 

We sit down with HRP's Laurel Pickard to talk about the latest PFAS developments regarding the MSGP for 2026. How will it impact big and small businesses when it comes to various stormwater and other sampling concerns.  Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

Hosts Tom Simmons and Matthew Wallace are joined by Lindsay Boone of Pace Analytical for a full spectrum conversation on the state of PFAS science. Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

The list of PFAS chemicals subject to TRI reporting grows to 205! Hosts Tom Simmons and Matthew Wallace are joined by HRP's EHS&S Practice Leader Jackie Baxley to discuss the additions. Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

What do horse riding and leading a utility have in common? Sewer District CEO Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells shares her top projects of 2024, the Cleveland bonds that fuel her enthusiasm, and insights that will resonate with leaders from all walks of life. The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District manages both wastewater and stormwater systems and plays a crucial role in restoring local waterways. We delve into the challenges of urban water infrastructure, the importance of partnerships, and the delicate balance needed to address environmental and community concerns. Looking to 2025, we consider the crucial role of leadership at the US EPA and Department of Energy, greenhouse gas and "forever chemicals," and the power of mindful communication in building community.Acronyms used in this episode:CERCLA - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980. The Act provides for liability, compensation, cleanup, and emergency response for hazardous substances released into the environment and the cleanup of inactive hazardous waste disposal sites.PFAS - Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a synthetic chemical that's part of PFAS chemicals.

It's our top PFAS stories of 2024! We'll hear from our regular contributors to the podcast on what stories top their lists for the year. We've got HRP's Tom Darby, Jackie Baxley, and hosts Matthew Wallace, and Tom Simmons. Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

Join host Ryan Feldman in an insightful episode of "The Poison Lab" as he sits down with Dr. John Downs, Director of the Virginia Poison Center, and one of the leading experts on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as "forever chemicals." Known for their persistence in the environment and human body, PFAS have raised significant public health concerns over the past few decades. Dr. Downs shares his journey through occupational medicine, toxicology, and public health, which uniquely positioned him to provide expertise on PFAS exposure, health risks, and ongoing regulatory efforts. Together, they delve into the origins, uses, and potential health effects of these ubiquitous compounds, while examining government policies, environmental impact, and strategies to reduce exposure. A must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of environmental health and toxicology! Episode Breakdown:2:42 – What Are Forever Chemicals?8:01 – History of PFAS and Associated Health Concerns15:41 – Government Regulation of PFAS20:42 – Shortcomings in PFAS Regulation25:20 – How Individuals Can Mitigate Risk31:15 – Testing for PFAS Levels and Exploring Treatment Options41:14 – Future Directions and Research Needs for PFAS45:29 – Conclusion and OutroKey Topics Discussed2:42 – What Are Forever Chemicals?PFAS are a large group of man-made chemicals that are persistent in the environment and human body.The podcast focuses primarily on PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctanoic sulfonic acid), as these were the first compounds identified as having very long elimination half-lives, measured in years, and not undergoing significant human metabolismThe podcast mentions that there are potentially thousands of different PFAS compounds and that more research is needed to determine if they all induce the same health effects as PFOA and PFOSCommonly used for their water- and oil-resistant properties in nonstick cookware, fast food wrappers, firefighting foams, and more.8:01 – History of PFAS and Associated Health ConcernsFirst created by Dupont chemical, used widely in 1940's in TeflonLarge contamination of water by PFAS identified in West Virginia townLed to landmark study in West Virginia (the C8 study) on epidemiological data of PFAS-related health risks.Effects noted: High cholesterol, thyroid dysfunction, ulcerative colitis, hypertension in pregnancy, decreased immune response to vaccine, and certain cancers (testicular and kidney cancer).PFAS in the EnvironmentPFAS are not easily degraded, leading to bioaccumulation in humans and animals.Non-stick cookware: Teflon, the trade name for non-stick cookware, was one of the earliest applications of PFAS, utilizing PFOA.Firefighting foam: PFAS was used in firefighting foams, particularly for aviation fuel fires. This has led to contamination of groundwater around military installations and airports.Fast food wrappers and other consumer products: PFAS are used to make products water and oil resistant, including fast food wrappers, clothing, upholstery, and popcorn bags.Biosolids: The nitrogenous waste produced after wastewater treatment, have been found to contain concentrated PFAS. These biosolids are sometimes sold to farms as fertilizer, potentially contaminating water and crops.Ski wax: Ski waxers have been found to have a high degree of PFAS...

Matthew and Tom are joined by HRP's CEO, and Maine sport hunting enthusiast, Dan Titus, to talk about the state's advisory on consuming game meat, specifically, deer and turkey. The advisory comes on the heels of lab results showing dangerously elevated levels of PFAS in wildlife.  Listen to learn more and subscribe to The Pulse for all the details.

Contains Distressing ContentScott Joined the Police in 1995. He had been a professional footballer, and his selection process was extremely smooth! He had played for Alloa Athletic and Scotland under 16 and played against Saudi Arabia in the Youth World Cup Final alongside Paul Dickov .Prior to joining the police Scott worked in the travel industry. His first day at training school wasn't the best start. He had been told to wear casual clothing. However, the drill sergeant had other ideas and a public telling off and was one of a handful who had to put their uniform on in the car park! He has fond memories of his time in training school and it was a platform that served him well throughout his career. His conclusion of training he went to his force for local procedure. On his first day, as he sat in the canteen, he was informed that there had been a shooting at Dunblane primary school. Along with his young colleagues he was dispatched to the school and was placed on scene preservation and to prevent the press and parents from entering the area. He saw the aftermath of the shooting and he describes his experiences as unforgettable. His first week became even more memorable when he broke the wrist of a suspect who he had handcuffed.Scott served at the Court in Holland where the Lockerbie Suspects were tried. This experience was carried out in the spotlight of the worlds press. The camp was in lockdown at night and the staff worked hard and played hard. Scott discovered a liking for firearms and undertook the tough process to qualify. His skills were recognised and he became the Chief Firearms instructor. The success in the work place came at a cost. The impact on his family was such that it put an end to his marriage. His depression was overwhelming but the death by suicide of a friend had a significant impact, and he found that with the support of the PFOA he was able to make the changes he needed to put his life back on track.The motivation to retire from Police Scotland was as a result of the pension changes. He wanted to stay but it became cost prohibitive.Since retirement Scott has been working for a number of different organisations and concentrates on wellbeing and has supported organisations such as PFOA Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seychelle founder and Chairman of the Board, Carl Palmer, joins the show today! Carl discusses the importance and connection between hydration and human health and takes a deep dive into different types of contamination including aesthetic, chemical and radiological. Using Seychelle's water bottle, Carl explains the scientific data behind the removal of inorganics, PFOA's and other contaminants from the water we drink at home and away. See our Seychelle Affiliate on www.jimbakkershow.com for products, discounts and information.

How are PFAS affecting your work and our world?Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a large class of long-lasting, synthetic chemicals used extensively in industrial and household products. Many PFAS don't degrade readily on their own, and some are highly mobile in the environment. They can be found worldwide in water, soil, air, plants, animals and even our bloodstreams. We're still uncovering the full impact of these chemicals on the health of humans and our environment, but here's what is clear: it's a complex challenge at scale to remediate these so-called “forever” chemicals.  Add fast-changing regulations in different geographies and regional differences to the scale and response to the PFAS challenge, and it all compounds the difficulty. The way forward requires a greater understanding of the risks and challenges of PFAS, but it's just the start. We'll need cross-sector collaboration and innovation to tackle these issues and apply the right measurement tools and technology.    Our guests for this episode are defining the solutions for clients and the industry at large: Sharon Minchak, Global Solutions Director for Remediation and Regeneration at Jacobs, and Dr. Russell Ford, Global Director for Drinking Water & Reuse Solutions at Jacobs.Follow Jacobs:Website: jacobs.comIf/When podcast series: If/When podcast seriesLinkedIn: @jacobsconnectsInstagram: @jacobsconnectsX: @JacobsConnectsFollow our guests:Sharon MinchakRussell FordMore episode details available here. 

Today, on the Hudson Mohawk Magazine: First, Troy resident and Compassion & Choices Senior Campaign Director Corinne Carey is at the Democratic National Convention and shares her observations with Blaise Bryant. Then, Moses Nagel speaks with Barbara Smith, who attended the protests at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Il in 1968, about how the DNC compares then and now. Later on, Mark Dunlea spoke with the Hoosick Falls Mayor Rob Allen about the status of the PFOA water contamination cleanup when the village is expected to receive $3million from a national class action settlement. After that, H Bosh Jr interviews Gina Torres of Torres Social about building a social media company. Finally, Willie Terry speaks with Mark Emanatian about why people should celebrate Labor Day in the Capital District.

The Village of Hoosick Falls is expected to receive $3 million from a national class action settlement connected to PFAS manufacturers 3M and DuPont. The settlement differs from ongoing negotiations with Honeywell International and Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics. Village Mayor Rob Allen discusses the status of the PFOA water contamination cleanup with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

Sophia Ruan Gushée is a nontoxic lifestyle expert and author of A to Z of D-Toxing: The Ultimate Guide to Reducing Our Toxic Exposures and several detox workbooks. She is praised by experts in both medical and wellness fields for her practical approach to avoiding toxins and cultivating a healthier home environment. Sophia served on the Brown University School of Public Health Advisory Council and Well + Good Council. A graduate of Brown University and Columbia Business School, Sophia has helped thousands of people enjoy healthier lives by simplifying nontoxic living, while protecting the ease and convenience of modern life.   https://www.ruanliving.com/nontoxic-cleaning-guide-may   Website & Social media links (Facebook, instagram, twitter) - Instagram: @ruanliving, https://www.instagram.com/ruanliving/ - Facebook: Ruan Living, https://www.facebook.com/ruanliving - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/srgushee/ - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ruanliving     For more information about Michelle, visit www.michelleoravitz.com   The Wholesome FertilityFacebook group is where you can find free resources and support: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2149554308396504/   Instagram: @thewholesomelotusfertility   Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/thewholesomelotus/     Transcript:   Michelle (00:01) Welcome to the podcast, Sophia.   Sophia Gushee (00:03) Thank you for having me.   Michelle (00:05) It's a pleasure to have you and to talk about something that I feel is so important. It's definitely like an uphill battle. I think that a lot of people are facing, but can be done in a easier way and approached in easier way. And I'm really happy to have you on to talk about this important topic. But before we get started, I would love for you to introduce yourself and give us a background and what got you into the work that you're doing.   Sophia Gushee (00:34) I'd be happy to. I never could have imagined that I would be focused on simplifying non -toxic living. I grew up in upstate New York, always interested in eating healthy. I grew up in a tennis loving family. I exercised a lot since I was really young. And yet I always felt poor energy, felt really bad. And since...   People always said to me, you're the healthiest person I know. And I felt really bad. I just thought something was wrong with me. I ended up after graduating from college, working on Wall Street for about 10 years in distressed investing. So I would focus on high risk, high return investments with imperfect information. And my job was to figure out.   what are the value creation strategies we can execute to create the most value? And when I became a mom at age 34, I started accidentally learning about toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and radiation from what I was buying for my infant. And since I never heard about this before, my like,   highly respected physicians never put it on my radar. My reaction ended up being very similar to what I did professionally with distress investing. I had to figure out are there credible sources to back up what I'm reading? What are the good facts? Why do the physicians not know about this? And what's a reasonable level of concern?   always I ended up finding enough information that made me want to make a healthier choice. And I ended up developing a platform and a lifestyle to simplify how to make safer choices with shopping and simple things you do at home. So Ruan Living is based on the easy things you can do to reduce your toxic exposures. I ended up   spending about eight years sharing the science that I learned about that I wish I knew sooner in a book that was published in 2015 and that's called A to Z of Detoxing, The Ultimate Guide to Reducing Our Toxic Exposures. But since I never wanted to read a book about this, I just wanted an informed mom to tell me what I should know and what I could do in as little time as possible. And I never found that resource. I've been   building offerings to serve that desire of my younger self because learning how to not buy toxic exposures to bring into your home should not be as hard as it's been.   Michelle (03:40) Oh my God, when you said simplify, I'm like, yes, that is exactly what we need because I find, and I found this when I first started working with fertility and of course learned about what the impacts were from these endocrine disruptors and the toxins that were exposed to from the chemicals that are in our products to our like healthcare and not healthcare them.   I mean, the clean products in our, not clean products, I don't know why I'm getting, I'll delete this part. Cleaning products in our house, you know, there's so many different ways that it sneaks in, but it also in receipts, you know, things that you would never even consider. And then also pesticides and I mean, you can just like, you can keep going and EMFs too. That's another, that's a whole other topic.   Sophia Gushee (04:15) cleaning products.   Michelle (04:36) But yeah, we're exposed to a lot of things that we're not supposed to be exposed to. And when I first learned about this, I remember myself feeling overwhelmed, but then also being afraid to overwhelm my patients and my clients, because it can be really overwhelming to hear about. First of all, it makes you feel bad and then worried like, well, what happened up until this point? You know what I mean? I've been doing all these things and not realizing that I'm harming my body.   But secondly, how does one get started? You know, that it feels like such an uphill battle and it feels like it's so overwhelming. I think that that was one of the things that I always struggled with in explaining things to my patients.   Sophia Gushee (05:21) It's hard. Not everyone wants to know. And so I don't push it on people. But for those who are curious, I want them to know what I have to offer so that they can learn to modify things in their lifestyle and their purchases that they don't mind making. And the thing...   Michelle (05:25) Mm -hmm.   Sophia Gushee (05:49) The main thing is, I forgot to finish a point I started with. Even though I felt really poor energy most of my life, it wasn't until after I started detoxing my home and detoxing my diet and other things to reduce my toxic exposures that I started to feel better than ever. And this is now during a stage in my life where I don't eat as well as I used to.   I don't exercise as much as I used to. I have three kids, so I've been busy with that and working a ton. I don't sleep as well, and yet I feel better than ever. And I really do believe it's the reduced body burden that I undoubtedly now have. And when I look at images of mice who have been exposed to a lot of bisphenol A,   a popular hormone disrupting chemical found in many household products like plastics. And I see how obese the mouse is in comparison to the control mouse who was not exposed to BPA. I think that's how I felt like all of high school. So what I encourage people to do is to follow an elimination diet. Pick one thing.   one change you don't mind making often cleaning products is a really good start or your food containers or your pots and pans. Most people don't feel an emotional connection to those things and make a small change. And over time, you're going to feel really good about it, whether you feel better or you're just feeling empowered and you'll feel ready for another change. And over time,   There are a variety of symptoms that are alleviated for a lot of people, whether it's skin issues or energy or other outcomes. A lot of studies actually show that these toxic exposures are influencing reproductive health and assisted reproductive technology outcomes. So if you're struggling to get pregnant,   and you want to do everything you can for the healthiest pregnancy outcome possible, then detoxing your home and the other aspects of your life that you can do at a pace that's comfortable for you will be an invaluable investment for yourself and your offspring and also their offspring.   Michelle (08:35) Absolutely. Actually, let's talk about pots and pans because I feel like that's always a confusing subject. What are good ones that you recommend?   Sophia Gushee (08:47) I stick to the materials that have been around since before the Industrial Revolution. So cast iron, stainless steel, and glass are the staples in my home. After about 12, 13 years of just those pots and pans, which are black and metal, I went through a period of really missing color. And so I bought a ceramic   Michelle (08:58) Mm -hmm.   Sophia Gushee (09:17) cast iron skillet thinking at the time based on my research that that was probably safe and then after spending probably about $200, very expensive pan, but it was a very pretty pink. I read that it could have lead in it and so my practical approach is I'm not going to throw it out. I like seeing the color around. I use it sparingly and   Acidic foods like tomatoes can wear at the coating of cast iron and stainless steel. So you want to try and not like make tomato sauce in those materials. And so I eventually bought glass cookware. And so the glass is for the tomatoes and other acidic foods. But I also use the...   ceramic glazed cast iron sometimes.   Michelle (10:19) Got it. But the ceramic glazed cast iron, you were saying sometimes it can have lead. Is that what it is?   Sophia Gushee (10:25) Yeah, studies on ceramics and ceramic glazed cookware have found mixed results. Some of them have found lead and probably other toxic chemicals too. It's just, you know, if they were just testing for lead, that's all they're going to find. But if they tested for a longer list of things, I have no doubt they'd find other things.   Michelle (10:37) Mm -hmm.   God, I wish they just didn't do this in the first place. So it would make our life so much easier. No, that they didn't put these chemicals in there or these like things that are harmful for the human body.   Sophia Gushee (10:54) that they don't test.   Well, they serve a purpose. I mean, sometimes these toxic exposures or substances are there accidentally, not intentionally. But sometimes lead is often used in many household products to create a desired color, to create weight in costume jewelry and children's jewelry. So if you think about it, this   Michelle (11:08) Mm -hmm.   Mm -hmm.   Sophia Gushee (11:27) like let's call it fake jewelry is made out of plastic. That's pretty light to make it feel more weighty, like a real, like, I don't know, heavy gold necklace. Heavy metals are used. And when lead has been replaced, it's often been replaced by cadmium, another heavy metal that is also toxic. So I have a 40 -day home detox that really tries to...   Michelle (11:49) Mm -hmm.   Sophia Gushee (11:55) inform your common sense in this way because it's not really practical or effective to avoid chemical by chemical. I started out when I started learning about this topic, I developed a list of chemicals to avoid. So I'd read product labels to avoid BPA or phthalates or parabens. And then I just realized that substitute chemicals are   Michelle (12:07) Mm -hmm.   Sophia Gushee (12:24) not always safer, sometimes they're more harmful. So BPA, for example, is a chemical that is used in the inner lining of canned foods and plastics on receipts, as you said earlier. In trying to use a safer formula or less controversial one, manufacturers would replace it with things like BPS or others.   and scientists have found that BPS can be even more harmful. And so I ended up, you know, it is, we're now shifting, like governments are shifting towards regulating families of chemicals, which is much more impactful. For example, California is looking to regulate the family of forever chemicals, not just specific ones, like specific forever chemicals, like   Michelle (12:56) Oh, wow.   Mm -hmm.   Sophia Gushee (13:22) PFOA or PFOS. But I actually in my book, A to Z of Detoxing, identified what I call household repeat offenders. So as you get to know materials or just things like, like I was saying, colors in your home, in like costume jewelry and ceramics, and understand that colors are used.   for example, lead and cadmium used to create weight or lead is used to deepen, I think it's red or orange. I specify this in the 40 day home detox program. It just tells your common sense, oh, that's high risk. Most likely there's a heavy metal in there to create that rich deep color or to create weight for plastic. But...   Michelle (14:10) Mm -hmm.   Sophia Gushee (14:19) I forgot your question.   Michelle (14:20) Oh, no. I mean, it's just, it's just, yeah, it's all, it's all important. Like I think it's all important because when it comes to really understanding and kind of navigating through this, it could be very overwhelming. And one of the things is like you were saying, when you're focusing on one ingredient at a time, I mean, who can remember all of those things? That's the reality. Another thing that comes to my mind too, is you would think like,   Sophia Gushee (14:23) Pots and pans, lots of hands.   Yeah.   Michelle (14:48) water or like a sparkling water, I know a lot of them have forever chemicals in them.   Sophia Gushee (14:56) Yeah, water is tricky. Bottled water will have lots of micro plastics or nano plastics if it's in a plastic bottle, but even tap water can get contaminated through the pipes and the kitchen fixtures. So I think it's really worth investing in a water filter that is comfortable for your budget.   Michelle (15:06) Mm -hmm.   Mm -hmm.   Sophia Gushee (15:24) Any level of filtration is better than none. But just going back to pots and pans, just so listeners know there's a resource. I have a blog on my website that's the most popular blog on my website and it's on pots and pans. And so I list the specific ones that I use for my home because it is, I research every product I can. I find it.   Michelle (15:26) Mm -hmm.   Mm -hmm.   Sophia Gushee (15:51) not only important but intellectually really interesting and even some stainless steel pots and pans, you know, they're not all the same and glass is not all the same. So I try and make it really easy for people to click and buy if that's what they want to do or share my thought process so people can do their own research.   Michelle (16:01) Mm -hmm.   Right.   That's awesome. So you do have a lot of resources on specific brands or what you've looked into that is clean. Like another thing is spatulas, you know, they say that the silicone spatulas are better because they could withstand high heat, but then sometimes they, they overlay rubber, which isn't good. So I don't know. What are your thoughts on that?   Sophia Gushee (16:43) I'd like to use the example of chocolate chip cookies. There's so many formulas, there's so many recipes for chocolate chip cookies. I grew up with chocolate chip cookies being made of white... Well, if you think about it, I grew up with chocolate chip cookies being really unhealthy. They were made of white sugar, white flour, bad oils. And nowadays there's some really great...   Michelle (16:55) I am now craving chocolate chip cookies.   Sophia Gushee (17:12) paleo recipes made of almond flour. I'm making it up. I don't know if it's almond flour, but like super healthy flour, healthier sugars, healthier chocolate. It can almost be healthier than most American breakfast options. And that idea is true for plastics, for silicone.   for glass, for stainless steel. It depends on the recipe. And so silicone, I'm skeptical of. I'm sure like ideally medical grade silicone is what you wanna use. So for things like pacifiers or baby bottle nipples, I did my best to find medical grade silicone. For cooking, I avoided silicone and plastics for a while.   Michelle (17:43) Mm -hmm.   Sophia Gushee (18:07) I would just use wooden spatulas and metal just when I need it. But you want to be careful not to use metal on cast iron and stainless steel because the scratching of the surface, even if you have nonstick pots and pans, scratches just facilitate the leaching of chemicals and metals into your food. So wood is better. But sometimes, like if you're making pancakes or you want to scoop up an egg,   from your pan then silicone. I finally bought one silicone spatula.   Michelle (18:43) So yeah, so in certain circumstances, but ultimately would be the best.   Sophia Gushee (18:50) Wood is ideal. And if I remember correctly, I read this trick to tell if silicone was high risk. And if you bend it, like some bakeware is made of silicone, even a spatula, you can maybe like bend the tip. If you can see, let's say your spatula is a blue silicone. If you see a little white and you bend it, then that's a signal that it might not be the healthiest.   Michelle (19:14) Right.   Sophia Gushee (19:20) So let's go.   Michelle (19:20) Right, because it has rubber inside. Yeah, I remember reading that as well. I was like, oh, that's interesting. So some are just better quality that they're like more thorough or there's a certain grading, right?   Sophia Gushee (19:23) Yeah.   next.   Yeah, there are love different levels of purity.   Michelle (19:38) Awesome. And then are there filters you recommend? I know I'm getting into the details, but I know that I have those questions and I think a lot of people do. It's like all those details are things that people know because water is so important. And of course they had Berkey, which was huge. Now they shut down. So like what's next? Yeah, I heard this is what I heard. I mean, I have, I have one and I have one at my office, but I know, but I did actually hear.   Sophia Gushee (19:42) Yeah, I know, I'm happy to see it.   versus Chess now.   Michelle (20:08) And I don't know that they had like a lawsuit and they lost. And so they shut it down. So now that there are other companies that distribute them, but you don't know which one's official. So it's kind of, I'm not sure.   Sophia Gushee (20:26) Excuse me.   I have spent so much time on water filtration and air filtration. I...   Michelle (20:33) Yeah.   Sophia Gushee (20:40) This is what I do. I have, I'm so paranoid about what's in the water that I have invested to the best of my ability. And so under our kitchen sink, we have a nine stage water filtration system. So there's reverse osmosis, which removes everything, but one water.   Michelle (20:59) Mm -hmm.   Sophia Gushee (21:09) expert explained to me, I'd never heard it before and I couldn't verify it online, but it kind of made sense. One water expert said to me that if you're drinking water that's stripped of everything and therefore unbalanced, as it goes through your body, it's looking to balance itself so it can leach your bones of minerals and take in other ways.   Michelle (21:28) Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm. Yeah, I heard about that.   Sophia Gushee (21:33) So that made me really nervous. So I also have other materials in the water filtration system to rebalance the water. There's also activated carbon. And in our country home, we also have, our country home is in an area that has cancer clusters. So I'm even more paranoid about water out there. So I have a whole house water filtration system. So it's about, I think,   Michelle (21:55) Oh, wow.   Sophia Gushee (22:03) I don't know how many pounds, like a huge tank of activated carbon in our basement. So all the water entering our home gets filtered through the activated carbon and then distributed throughout the rest of our home, which was important to me at the time I installed it because my young kids were taking long backs. And...   Michelle (22:26) Mm -hmm.   Sophia Gushee (22:29) but I still felt like I don't think that's enough, because there's just so much bad activity around our country home with a pharmaceutical company there and like some industrial activity. And so I also installed this nine stage water filtration system under the sink. But if you can't do that for whatever reason, then even a...   picture with activated carbon is better than nothing. When I travel, I have water bottles that have a water filtration system in the water bottle. Because I notice when I travel, I end up not really drinking water because I'm afraid to drink water. And so that's helped. But my kids won't use it. They all have it, but they refuse to drink from it. So I'll keep trying.   Michelle (23:00) Mm -hmm.   Mm -hmm.   I know the kids don't like to listen to us sometimes, but also when you use that, so you were talking about that charcoal. So that's not reverse osmosis. It's too simple. Right. So it just basically cleans it out with the charcoal.   Sophia Gushee (23:37) That's not.   the water filter, the water bottle.   Michelle (23:44) The water, yeah.   No, no, the water filter in the house. You had mentioned that you had the charcoal and then you had the night.   Sophia Gushee (23:51) The basement has just the activated charcoal. And so that's actually a specific thing you want to ask for because not all charcoal is the same. So you want activated charcoal. And that just absorbs a lot of toxins. But after the water gets distributed through the pipes, it's going to pick up other things from the pipes.   Michelle (23:59) Okay.   Sophia Gushee (24:18) But also I don't think the activated charcoal is necessarily getting the forever chemicals or nanoplastics. So that's why I feel crazy talking about this or admitting it, but I then have the nine -stage water filtration system underneath the spout for drinking water. And it's just for drinking water. I don't use it for cooking.   Michelle (24:41) Mm -hmm. It's not crazy. That's the thing. It's not crazy to want clean water. You know, it's really not. It's just so common to really be exposed to things we shouldn't be exposed to that we have to go out of our way to add all these reinforcements in order to just have clean water, you know, in our life.   Sophia Gushee (25:07) Plus, I was learning about all the contaminants in water with really young kids and during pregnancies and nursing and knowing how influential these toxic exposures can be to young developing life. I would do anything to protect my children from these endocrine disruptors and neurotoxicants and carcinogens.   So I did my best, but it was really hard to figure out. It really took probably over 10 years because not all the water filtration experts had a holistic understanding of my concern. So it just took many conversations and it took a while to find experts that were informed.   Michelle (26:02) And are there ones you recommend or do you have anything on your website of which types of water filtration you recommend from like a pitcher to something under your sink?   Sophia Gushee (26:15) I don't remember if I do in the blog. I have a detox Academy. It's a membership where that's where I am much more personal about the products in my home. I share a lot on the blog too, but I often, I, I often want to be able to provide more context for things because nothing's perfect. So I just want to be able. So in my detox Academy, there's more context for.   Michelle (26:28) Mm -hmm.   Yeah.   Sophia Gushee (26:44) the pros and cons of a product, why I chose it. So for example, sunscreen. I reevaluate every year. It's highly complex. When my kids are really young, there is a certain brand of sunscreen that was rated the most non -toxic, but it's a thick white cream. So as my kids became more verbal, they're like, no. And now they're teenage girls. And so,   Michelle (26:48) Mm -hmm.   Yes, and the kids don't like it. They don't like it. Yeah.   Sophia Gushee (27:14) branding matters, you know, like there are a lot of things that go into whether a teenage girl is going to reapply or apply sunscreen. So I had to go more toxic with some products. And so I just explain a lot more of those personal things in the detox academy because I was raised being told if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. And so I just am shy or reserved about.   Michelle (27:17) Oh yeah.   Mm -hmm, right.   Sophia Gushee (27:43) talking about brands or products that are more toxic, but in the detox academy, I'll say, you know, this brand has a higher toxicity rating, but I use it because if I don't, then my children won't reapply sunscreen.   Michelle (27:45) Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.   But no, it makes sense. I mean, I think it is something that can be addressed in a balanced way because otherwise, I mean, it'll, it'll create your, you know, it'll really create a lot of stress, which I feel like is also toxic. So you got to do it in a way that's balanced and sensible and a way that works.   Sophia Gushee (28:21) Yeah, it's really important to not aim to be perfect about it and non -toxic does not exist. That's why I often say, like my podcast is called Practical Non -Toxic Living because you also have to enjoy life and that means taking risks and branding.   Michelle (28:30) Right.   Yeah, it's true.   Sophia Gushee (28:48) Brings a lot of joy to teenage girls.   Michelle (28:50) For sure. Well, I'm glad that you're saying that because I think that that is, you know, it's definitely an important aspect to address because I do think that that's what happens. It's like with anything you start to learn about it. You almost become almost like a toxic phobe. It's just like we become germaphobes when we have that microscope that we could see what it looks like, you know, so it starts to get in our minds and we're like, oh my God, I don't want that.   And there's this like high level of resistance. And the truth is we really can't resist all of it. We cannot go completely clean. So it is important to realize that always it's never going to be perfect. And that's okay. I mean, part of it is obviously trying to alleviate the body's load, but it also, another part of it is actually making the body adaptable, you know, so the body adapts because the body knows how to detoxify as well.   I mean, I know there's activated charcoal that people can take as well to help take out the toxins or bind to toxins in the body. So it's a real holistic balance for sure.   Sophia Gushee (29:58) I really think of it as yoga off the mat. And I just, I support conscious, just conscious choices and whatever you choose, you shouldn't judge yourself. I had a client who was trying to help her mom detox her home, just detox cleaning products. And the mom was so resistant. And finally, after a few years, the mom finally admitted,   Michelle (30:09) Mm -hmm.   Sophia Gushee (30:28) I just love my certain perfume and my red lipstick and I'm so afraid you're going to tell me it's so toxic I can't use it. And I said, tell your mom that she can hold on to what she loves and there will be plenty of other changes that she won't mind making. And that's really my philosophy. Hold on to what you love or what brings you great convenience. Let's work together on finding the changes you won't mind making.   Michelle (30:37) Yeah.   Yeah.   That's actually really important. I mean, I will say like that, you know, my daughter likes this one perfume and, and it's not a non -toxic perfume, but I feel like if I get so strict, it's going to cause the opposite effect. And I said, okay, it's not a big deal. Just put it on your clothes, not on your skin. You know, sometimes you just do it once in a while and it's not like every day. So it's like, I think that that's a great way to look at it. It's just like, it doesn't have to be.   all or nothing and a little bit it's not going to like be the end all be all like make such a big deal.   Sophia Gushee (31:36) I'm sorry. It was really meaningful to me when I spoke to the former dean of the School of Public Health at Brown University, Bess Marcus, who did a lot of research on behavioral change with smokers, cigarette smokers. And a lot of her research in the 60s and 70s, she ended up using in her visits.   to physicians to educate physicians on what scientists were understanding about the health risks from cigarette smoking. And after a while, a lot of when she would revisit the physicians, they often were really demoralized and they would say, I tell my patients that if they don't stop smoking cigarettes, their chances of lung cancer are gonna be much higher, but they won't quit. So what's the point?   There's no point. And she said, the research shows that a patient, a smoker needs to hear this message at least seven times before the smoker will consider changing. So you have to be among the voice of seven, which helped me so much because if you're trying to educate your children, for example,   Michelle (32:48) Mm.   Sophia Gushee (33:01) to know that your goal shouldn't be to get them to stop something right away and listen to you, but just to be among the voices of the messages that will give them the right information or the right goals, then at some point, maybe they'll listen to it, but you really can't control other people. You shouldn't try. It'll just ruin your relationship. And so all we can do is just try and be a voice out there without the expectation of,   Michelle (33:21) It's true. Yeah, 100%.   It's true.   Sophia Gushee (33:31) controlling behavior.   Michelle (33:33) Oh, 100%. I think that you teach and if people want to take it, they take it. If they can't, if they don't want to, you know, we're all given free will. I have a very big proponent of that because it's important to respect that in others. And ultimately it's their decision. Um, but educate, I, I'm really big on, I think that it's so important to educate people and let them know, because then, then you can make an informed decision. However, that decision wants to end up.   but you can make an informed decision because you have information to make that decision. And then if you choose to ignore certain things, that's your choice, but you at least you know before making that decision.   Sophia Gushee (34:14) Yeah.   Yeah, I just think people have a right to know if you're a health conscious person, then often this is an overlooked pillar of health that can be really empowering.   Michelle (34:29) of without a doubt. And then let's talk about actually EMFs, because you had mentioned that I've seen that on your list. So EMFs are definitely something that a lot of it's invisible. So I think that sometimes out of sight out of mind, we can't smell it, we can't really hear it. It's like invisible, but we know it's there and we read about it, but sometimes forget about it. And it's something that we use, especially like if you're going to a library, I mean, anywhere that   even a hotel, you know, with all the wifi, it's there in so many places. So talk about the role of EMF and how that can impact reproductive health.   Sophia Gushee (35:14) I'll start by trying to explain EMFs in a way that can maybe help listeners visualize it, because I think that has helped me. So I now think of EMFs as just radiation. It's just energy. I think of it as energy. And our cell phones, for example, will maybe use energy from a 3G wavelength or   maybe 4G also and 5G and Bluetooth, then cellular, 3G, 4G, 5G, Bluetooth, Wi -Fi, cellular, their energy wavelengths will differ, but also like the, there are other things about the wavelengths that will be different. So Bluetooth, for example, will be something like,   whereas Wi -Fi will maybe be more gentle. And if you think of sound as energy too, but that it's almost like a harsh wavelength, it's pecking at our membranes. So if you have Bluetooth earphones in your ear, the...   Michelle (36:31) Mm -hmm.   Sophia Gushee (36:42) that part of your skull is actually really vulnerable. So even if you're not using the earphones, it's open. So the earbuds are still trying to, they still emit energy towards each other through your skull. A wonderful scientist named Debra Davis, she's highly accomplished. She,   Michelle (36:49) Because it's open. It's open.   Sophia Gushee (37:11) She was integral in banning smoking on cigarette planes decades ago. She has been, God bless her, she's been pioneering science on how these electromagnetic fields from our technology are affecting our health and development and reproductive health outcomes. Side note, she won a Nobel Prize with   Michelle (37:18) God bless her.   Sophia Gushee (37:40) Vice President Al Gore on their work for climate change. So she's an amazing scientist, but she...   I just lost my train of thought.   Michelle (37:55) That happens to me all the time. We were talking about the earbuds and the yeah.   Sophia Gushee (37:59) the earbud. She has, uh, she's published a few wonderful books, but she just re -released a book called Disconnect, which explains the science on how radiation from things like our cell phones and laptops are threatening our health and wellbeing. So if listeners want to get a great overview on that, I highly recommend Disconnect. And I also have...   one podcast episode with Debra Davis on the Practical Non -Toxic Living podcast if they want to listen and her executive director is on another one. But she and another great scientist, David Carpenter, were part of a team that filed a lawsuit against the FCC for not considering   the scientific studies, the peer -reviewed scientific studies that have come out since the wireless standards were set in 1996. And the judge ruled in their favor. But the judge said to the FCC, you have these list of things you have to now respond to, but there's no deadline for the FCC to respond by. So progress isn't really going to go anywhere, but at least the judge acknowledged that   standards need to be updated and the FCC needs to consider what scientists have learned since 1996. But studies have shown that laptop radiation and cell phone radiation near like the male reproductive area damages sperm quality. So men should be really mindful of where they place the laptop and...   Michelle (39:44) Mm -hmm.   Sophia Gushee (39:51) If you're going to have a cell phone on your body, ideally you don't, but that's really hard to do nowadays. If it is on your body, the perfect solution is to turn off your phone. Most people can't do that. The next best thing is to disable cellular Wi -Fi and Bluetooth. And so I just work on having my family members, my children and my husband use airplane mode to disable those things.   Michelle (40:19) Mm -hmm. Yeah.   Sophia Gushee (40:21) And so when you're walking, just know you're taking, you're disconnecting, taking a little break. And then when you need to check your messages, then you can easily enable all that. So that's, that's how I approach EMFs. So male sperm quality, sperm quality is easier to measure than female reproductive health. So even though they're,   scientists don't know how radiation affects our ovaries or the DNA in our reproductive in the ovaries, that doesn't mean that it doesn't cause harm. It's just the studies for women are much more complex.   Michelle (41:10) Right, right. I mean, if it impacts men, you would imagine, I mean, and then a lot of people put their laptop on their bodies or they put like other devices on their bodies. I've, you know, people have the Apple watch, you know, all the basically the smartwatches and it's constantly on their body. And I, I look at it from a Chinese medicine perspective and how we have energetic meridians and we do have an energetic body around us.   and it's intelligent. So having anything interfere with that definitely impacts our bodies and our vitality. And, you know, so I definitely think about that. And let me ask you, what are your thoughts? Because some people say the 5G is like the most strong radiation. So I always have my kids opt in for LTE.   And I do myself on my phone because I'm like, okay, maybe it's a little less radiation. Maybe it's not as good quality, but like the radiation is a little lower. I mean, I don't even know anymore.   Sophia Gushee (42:17) They, again, all the like 3G, 4G, 5G, they're just different layers of energy. And so I think of the home as a sea of radiation. So the more you can take out or silence, the better for you, the less burden on your body. So it's hard. I mean, I live in New York City and I think what I aim to do with, I'm always using airplane mode.   Michelle (42:22) Mm -hmm.   Mm -hmm.   Yeah.   Sophia Gushee (42:47) which annoys most people that they can't call me and reach me right away, but so be it. But my, you know, I have to work within like, what can I ask of my family that won't have them completely reject everything I ask. And so for me right now, I'm just trying to get them to use airplane mode when they don't need to be wirelessly connected. If you're able to,   Michelle (42:51) Mm -hmm. Yeah.   Yes.   Sophia Gushee (43:16) have your family, your loved ones do even more than that, then that's better. It's just less of a stressor on your body. And so I just want to make the point again that some of these wavelengths like Bluetooth can weaken your membrane. So for example, studies show that cell phone radiation can weaken the blood brain barrier.   which protects our brain from toxic compounds in the blood. So just keep in mind that idea that if you never give your body a break from a growing intensity of radiation in our environment, at home, school, work, even public areas, then your organs like your brain are more likely to...   be more vulnerable to toxic compounds in your blood and elsewhere. So that's why it's just important to be mindful and to be able to create recovery periods for your body. And so the bedroom is a great area to focus on. It's hard to control many things in life and sometimes even in our homes if we live with other people.   Michelle (44:29) Mm -hmm.   Sophia Gushee (44:39) But the bedroom is a really good focus because hopefully you're sleeping seven to eight hours. You won't miss being wirelessly disconnected. So just make that energy in your sleep area be as silent as possible so your body can get higher quality sleep and be more resilient to what we can't control.   Michelle (45:02) Yeah, one of the things that I love is earthing or getting a grounding mat because it does absorb excess like, you know, frequencies in our body just brings it down and it does it's been shown to help with inflammation. I mean, it does so much so much to help the body. I feel like it is one way we can kind of organize our energy again, like our body's energy.   a way that is, you know, it gives us something that we can do to help. And then I've also read about shungite. And I think that there was a study done on shungite because of its high carbon content that does tend to neutralize radiation.   Sophia Gushee (45:49) Yes, I'm actually wearing a shangite now.   Michelle (45:51) Oh, look at you and I have this look.   Sophia Gushee (45:57) Bye.   After talking to scientists about different EMF protection products and other experiences, I'm now at a place where I like to assume they don't work just because I don't want to have a false sense of security. Because some products, some EMF protection products, especially ones that you plug into an electrical outlet, sometimes they cause more   Michelle (46:21) Right.   Sophia Gushee (46:33) harm than good or they just create. So for example, you can, for example, I have a router which I can't move outside a daughter's bedroom. So her bedroom gets a lot of radiation and an EMF expert recommended paint that   to paint her walls, special paint that would block out the radiation. It took me years later and another EMF expert to realize that the cell phone towers beaming into her bedroom from outside her apartment that are on rooftops across the street.   bounce off the walls of her painted walls and create a chaotic energy that's even more stressful for my daughter's body. I don't really know what's true, what the big picture is, but it just made me nervous about. That's one example among others that made me feel like I don't really know how to use these things safely. And so I am.   Michelle (47:28) Mm.   Yeah.   Yeah.   Sophia Gushee (47:51) Like I think shungite probably does work, but how much shungite do we need? Like plants do detox the air, but for plants to be an effective air purifier, you probably have to live in a greenhouse. You need a lot of plants.   Michelle (47:55) Bye.   Right, right, right. This is true. I mean, yeah, we could definitely like, we can keep going and dive deep and, and, you know, enter the rabbit hole, go down the rabbit hole with so many of these things. So I definitely, I could see that for sure, but it is important to know.   Sophia Gushee (48:23) But natural ways of earthing, like I'm a big proponent of, which is just skin contact with earth. I really like on grass and soil, the sea is great, immersing yourself in sea water and the ocean, those are really excellent healing ways to ground.   Michelle (48:32) Yeah.   No doubt nature is incredible and it really knows how to balance us. I mean, because we are part of nature, it's designed that way. So it is pretty amazing. So, I mean, this is just such a great conversation. I could literally pick your brain for hours. And I love some of the things that we talked about, really good information. And for people who are interested and want to learn more, how can they find you? Where should they go?   on your website or, you know, navigate through this.   Sophia Gushee (49:19) My website is great. The newsletter is the best way to follow the podcast, the detox academy, 40 day home detox and new blog articles and so much more. So I also have detox workshops online. So Ruan living R U A N is a Nancy living .com has also and I can share this link with you. I have a free.   non -toxic cleaning guide, which is super helpful in explaining the safest way to clean your home.   Michelle (49:58) Awesome. Yeah, that would be great. So Sophia, thank you so much for coming on today. This is such an informative episode. I really appreciate everything that you shared today. So thank you so much.   Sophia Gushee (50:11) My pleasure.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of chemicals known as PFAS, are often called “forever chemicals” because of how long they persist in the environment. They are prevalent in drinking water and have been linked to negative health outcomes. A slew of cleantech start-ups are cropping up with the aim of breaking down and destroying PFAS molecules. In this episode of C&EN Uncovered, reporter Britt Erickson explores the technologies behind these companies and the competition among them. C&EN Uncovered, a project from C&EN's podcast, Stereo Chemistry, offers a deeper look at subjects from recent stories. Check out Britt's cover story on the destruction techniques for these “forever chemicals” at cenm.ag/foreverchemicals. Cover photo: Argon gas plasma, which can break down PFAS, on the surface of liquid water Subscribe to Stereo Chemistry now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.   A transcript of this episode will be available soon at cen.acs.org. Credits Executive producer: Gina Vitale C&EN Uncovered host: Craig Bettenhausen Reporter: Britt Erickson Audio editor: Ted Woods Copyeditor: Bran Vickers Story editor: Michael McCoy Episode artwork: Courtesy of Selma Mededovic Thagard/Clarkson University Music: “Hot Chocolate,” by Aves Contact Stereo Chemistry: Contact us on social media at @cenmag or email cenfeedback@acs.org.

Have you ever considered that your quest for eternal youth could be silently sabotaging your health? My latest solo episode peels back the glossy labels of skincare and anti-aging products to reveal the 'Fatal Conveniences' hidden within. I unmask the startling truth about hazardous chemicals like mercury and PFOAs that are infiltrating our bodies through our largest organ - our skin. Join me as I illuminate the path to becoming a conscious consumer, urging you to support brands that hold our wellbeing in high regard and challenging you to rethink the potions and lotions that promise the fountain of youth.   The conversation doesn't stop at skincare; it's a rallying cry for mindfulness in our daily routine. Tune in as I dissect the everyday choices that could be undermining our health and share how even the most minor shifts in our buying habits can yield monumental gains for our well-being and the planet.  Together, we're fostering a community dedicated to sidestepping these hidden dangers and championing products that are kind to both our bodies and the environment.   Don't forget… You can order now by heading to https://darinolien.com/fatal-conveniences-book or order now on Amazon.   LINKS & RESOURCES: FDA article on Mercury The Mercury Product Database Anti-aging Products Linked To Breast Cancer Cosmetic Safety Report – Downloadable PDF on PFOA's  Get The Facts – Finding Safer Products Mercury Poisoning Linked to Skin Products Public Health Statement for Mercury      Thank you to our sponsors: Vivo Barefoot: Get 15% off your first Vivobarefoot order with DARINV15 at www.vivobarefoot.com Find more from Darin: Website: https://darinolien.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Darinolien/ Book: https://darinolien.com/fatal-conveniences-book/ Down to Earth: https://darinolien.com/down-to-earth/    Use code OLIEN20 for a Viome discount Candiani Denim: https://www.candianidenim.com/

HRP Associates leads the way on PFAS, bringing you this breakdown on the EPA's finalization of maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in drinking water. Guests Bryan Massa and Tom Darby represent the top talent in the PFAS field at HRP and are here to bring you the details. A reminder that our Play Hard segment is also available in video form! Watch that on our YouTube Channel. Make sure you subscribe, give us a review & check us out on social media!YouTubeLinkedInInstagramTwitterFacebookWebsite

Dr. Marissa Jablonski is an educator, researcher and Executive Director of the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin where she works to bring together academia, industry, non-profit organizations, and community around all things water. Marissa is also a zero waste influencer under her name Plastic-Free Marissa. *PFAS and PFOA research is growing very rapidly and we have a correction: PFAS and PFOA do not accumulate in fat cells, they tend to accumulate in body tissues like the lungs, liver and kidneys. Here are a couple of resources that back this up: https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/pfc#:~:text=Exposure%20to%20certain%20PFAS%20may,such%20as%20in%20the%20liver. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412013001220 The Person & Planet theme song is an original song by singer/songwriter Barbara Stephan. Click here to listen to “Gonna Be There.” --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/personandplanet/support

C dans l'air du 4 avril 2024 - Polluants éternels : le nouveau scandale sanitaire ? C'est le nouveau scandale sanitaire qui inquiète. À Rumilly (Haute-Savoie), qui compte une usine Tefal, du PFOA, "un polluant éternel", a été découvert en février 2023 dans le réseau d'eau potable de la ville. Après des tests sanguins, des habitants de la commune ont découvert avec horreur qu'ils avaient des taux de PFOA cinq fois supérieurs à la moyenne française (2,08 µg/L). La molécule est pourtant interdite depuis 2020 en raison de son potentiel cancérogène. Ces substances per- et polyfluoroalkylées, dont certaines sont toxiques, sont notamment consommées ou rejetées lors du processus de revêtement antiadhésif des poêles Tefal. Face à la pression médiatique, SEB (propriétaire de Tefal) assure que le seul PFAS qu'elle utilise est le PFTE, "une substance reconnue depuis plus de 50 ans pour son innocuité". Ce qui n'est pas de l'avis de tous. Le député écologiste Nicolas Thierry a déposé une proposition de loi visant à "interdire à partir de 2025 la fabrication, l'importation, l'exportation et la mise sur le marché de tous les produits contenant des PFAS". Étudié dès aujourd'hui à l'Assemblée nationale, le texte a été accueilli par plusieurs centaines de salariés de SEB envoyés par la direction pour protester. Selon la direction du groupe, la proposition de loi menacerait près de 3 000 emplois en France, dont 1 500 emplois pour la seule ville de Rumilly. La direction de SEB a encore le temps de réagir. D'autres, comme Buitoni, n'en ont pas eu l'occasion. Le 30 mars dernier, Nestlé a décidé de fermer son usine de production de pizzas à Caudry (Nord) mise en cause dans le décès de deux enfants et l'intoxication de dizaines d'autres, par la bactérie Escherichia coli. À l'époque, l'affaire avait fait grand bruit. Une information judiciaire est ouverte depuis mai 2022 à Paris pour homicide involontaire. Avant elle, l'entreprise Ferrero (qui produit les chocolats Kinder) s'était retrouvée au cœur d'un scandale similaire après avoir intoxiqué des centaines d'enfants à travers l'Europe. Conscientes des risques, les grandes entreprises se forment à la communication de crise pour répondre à ce genre de situation. "En matière de gestion de crise, le pire est de ne rien dire", expliquait à La Croix Géraldine Michel, responsable de la chaire marques et valeurs à la Sorbonne. Lors de la révélation du scandale Kinder en avril dernier, il avait par exemple fallu attendre quatre jours pour que Ferrero reconnaisse dans un communiqué "des défaillances internes". Un réaction bien trop tardive pour espérer calmer la colère des familles touchées. En la matière, la direction de Nestlé Waters (San Pellegrino, Vittel, Perrier…) est actuellement acculée. Le groupe est accusé depuis plusieurs jours d'avoir voulu cacher la contamination généralisée de ses sources d'eau minérale. Le 4 avril, Le Monde et France info ont révélé le contenu d'une expertise menée par l'Agence de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation (Anses) sur les eaux du groupe. Le rapport, remis au gouvernement en février, conclut à une contamination généralisée aux bactéries, pesticides, PFAS, des sources d'eau minérale naturelle exploitées par le groupe Nestlé. Non seulement, le gouvernement n'a rien communiqué aux Français, mais il n'a rien transmis non plus aux autorités européennes "ce qui est quand même assez fou, parce que toutes ces eaux dont on parle aujourd'hui de grande marque, sont aussi vendues et consommées dans d'autres pays européens", répond à France info l'association Foodwatch, qui a porté plainte pour "tromperies" contre Nestlé. Un comité de la Commission européenne est d'ailleurs prévu le 30 avril pour faire la lumière sur cette affaire. Quelle est la dangerosité des fameux PFAS ? Pourquoi le gouvernement français veut-il les interdire ? Comment les grands groupes réagissent-ils aux crises qu'ils provoquent ? Et quelle est l'ampleur du scandale de l'eau qui plane au-dessus de Nestlé ? LES EXPERTS : - GÉRALD KIERZEK - Médecin urgentiste, directeur médical - Doctissimo - ÉMILIE TORGEMEN - Journaliste chargée des questions d'environnement - Le Parisien - KARINE JACQUEMART - Directrice de Foodwatch France - PHILIPPE DESSERTINE - Économiste, directeur de l'Institut de Haute Finance DIFFUSION : du lundi au samedi à 17h45 FORMAT : 65 minutes PRÉSENTATION : Caroline Roux - Axel de Tarlé - REDIFFUSION : du lundi au vendredi vers 23h40 PRODUCTION DES PODCASTS: Jean-Christophe Thiéfine RÉALISATION : Nicolas Ferraro, Bruno Piney, Franck Broqua, Alexandre Langeard, Corentin Son, Benoît Lemoine PRODUCTION : France Télévisions / Maximal Productions Retrouvez C DANS L'AIR sur internet & les réseaux : INTERNET : francetv.fr FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/Cdanslairf5 TWITTER : https://twitter.com/cdanslair INSTAGRAM : https://www.instagram.com/cdanslair/

Non-stick pans are incredibly convenient -- they save hours of time, and make cooking less labor-intensive. Some might say the technology sounds too good to be true! As it turns out, that just might be the case. Tune in to learn how 3M, DuPont and other corporate entities conspired (for decades) to suppress research indicating serious medical dangers posed by Teflon and related substances.They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Goodson grew up in Missouri and graduated from the University of Missouri Columbia and Harvard Medical School. He trained as a general surgeon and specialized in breast surgery before it was a recognized field. He was a member of the research group that established breast conservation, i.e., lumpectomy, as the preferred treatment for early breast cancer. Recognizing that he was treating more young women with breast cancer, he joined with Dr. Shanaz Dairkee in 2005 to investigate how common environmental chemicals such as BPA, methylparaben, PFOA, etc. disrupt the normal biology of non-cancerous, human breasts. He has been a professor at the University of California San Francisco and a Senior Scientist at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of the American Society for Clinical Oncology, and a spokesperson for The Halifax Project. In addition to research, he enjoys photography, writing, and creating hand-drawn animation as on his website, www.drwilliamgoodson.com A Ternary Mixture of Common Chemicals Perturbs Benign Human Breast Epithelial Cells More Than the Same Chemicals Do Individually. Dairkee SH, Luciani-Torres G, Moore DH, Jaffee IM, Goodson WH 3rd. Toxicol Sci. 2018 Sep 1;165(1):131-144. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfy126. PMID: 29846718 Free PMC article.   Assessing the carcinogenic potential of low-dose exposures to chemical mixtures in the environment: the challenge ahead. Goodson WH 3rd, Lowe L, Carpenter DO, Gilbertson M, Manaf Ali A, Lopez de Cerain Salsamendi A, Lasfar A, Carnero A, Azqueta A, Amedei A, Charles AK, Collins AR, Ward A, Salzberg AC, Colacci A, Olsen AK, Berg A, Barclay BJ, Zhou BP, Blanco-Aparicio C... See abstract for full author list ➔ Carcinogenesis. 2015 Jun;36 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S254-96. doi: 10.1093/carcin/bgv039. PMID: 26106142 Free PMC article.   Consensus on the key characteristics of endocrine-disrupting chemicals as a basis for hazard identification. La Merrill MA, Vandenberg LN, Smith MT, Goodson W, Browne P, Patisaul HB, Guyton KZ, Kortenkamp A, Cogliano VJ, Woodruff TJ, Rieswijk L, Sone H, Korach KS, Gore AC, Zeise L, Zoeller RT. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2020 Jan;16(1):45-57. doi: 10.1038/s41574-019-0273-8. Epub 2019 Nov 12. PMID: 31719706 Free PMC article.   Exposure to the polyester PET precursor--terephthalic acid induces and perpetuates DNA damage-harboring non-malignant human breast cells. Luciani-Torres MG, Moore DH, Goodson WH 3rd, Dairkee SH. Carcinogenesis. 2015 Jan;36(1):168-76. doi: 10.1093/carcin/bgu234. Epub 2014 Nov 19. PMID: 25411358 Free PMC article.   The Key Characteristics of Carcinogens: Relationship to the Hallmarks of Cancer, Relevant Biomarkers, and Assays to Measure Them. Smith MT, Guyton KZ, Kleinstreuer N, Borrel A, Cardenas A, Chiu WA, Felsher DW, Gibbons CF, Goodson WH 3rd, Houck KA, Kane AB, La Merrill MA, Lebrec H, Lowe L, McHale CM, Minocherhomji S, Rieswijk L, Sandy MS, Sone H, Wang A, Zhang L, Zeise L, Fielden M. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2020 Oct;29(10):1887-1903. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-19-1346. Epub 2020 Mar 9. PMID: 32152214 Free PMC article.   Testing the low dose mixtures hypothesis from the Halifax project. Goodson WH, Lowe L, Gilbertson M, Carpenter DO. Rev Environ Health. 2020 Aug 24;35(4):333-357. doi: 10.1515/reveh-2020-0033. Print 2020 Nov 18. PMID: 32833669 Review.   Using the Key Characteristics of Carcinogens to Develop Research on Chemical Mixtures and Cancer. Rider CV, McHale CM, Webster TF, Lowe L, Goodson WH 3rd, La Merrill MA, Rice G, Zeise L, Zhang L, Smith MT. Environ Health Perspect. 2021 Mar;129(3):35003. doi: 10.1289/EHP8525. Epub 2021 Mar 30. PMID: 33784186 Free PMC article.   Bisphenol-A-induced inactivation of the p53 axis underlying deregulation of proliferation kinetics, and cell death in non-malignant human breast epithelial cells. Dairkee SH, Luciani-Torres MG, Moore DH, Goodson WH 3rd. Carcinogenesis. 2013 Mar;34(3):703-12. doi: 10.1093/carcin/bgs379. Epub 2012 Dec 7. PMID: 23222814 Free PMC article.   Activation of the mTOR pathway by low levels of xenoestrogens in breast epithelial cells from high-risk women. Goodson WH 3rd, Luciani MG, Sayeed SA, Jaffee IM, Moore DH 2nd, Dairkee SH. Carcinogenesis. 2011 Nov;32(11):1724-33. doi: 10.1093/carcin/bgr196. Epub 2011 Sep 1. PMID: 21890461 Free PMC article.