You don’t have to look far to find highly fluorinated chemicals in your daily life and within the healthcare environment. From furniture to food wrappers, cooking pans to indoor dust, we can be exposed to fluorinated chemicals nearly every day. While this class of chemicals may make life easier with their stain resistant and non-stick properties, there is growing research pointing towards long term health implications such as cancer, low birth weight, and decreased fertility. While some of these chemicals are being phased out, newer products now on the market are also under increased scrutiny. Given the accumulating evidence, Healthier Hospitals has included this class of chemicals in the prioritization for removal from healthcare furnishings and materials.

An upcoming webinar on April 19 from our friends at the Green Science Policy Institute will look deeper into the area of highly fluorinated chemicals, providing an in depth review of the products and materials in which they are used, why they can be harmful, and what can do done about it. Leaders in the field who will be sharing their expertise include:

• Mark Strynar, Ph.D. scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an expert on highly fluorinated chemicals, will share emerging science on their health and environmental impacts.
• Christopher Higgins, PhD., from the Colorado School of Mines, will share his studies on migration of highly fluorinated chemicals from contaminated soils into food crops like cucumbers and strawberries.
• Robert Bilott, Attorney at Law, will discuss his 18-year-long effort to bring justice to those harmed by PFOA in the Ohio River Valley that resulted in a recent $671 million legal settlement with Du Pont.
• Arlene Blum, PhD., of the Green Science Policy Institute, will share updates about these chemicals in drinking water, food packaging, and consumer products, and the efforts of companies that have stopped using them.

We hope that you can participate in this informative event.