[SEMCO] New Superfund research center hosts kick-off event on the Cape, Monday 12/4

[Laurel Schaider]

New federally-funded Superfund research center focusing on contaminants in
drinking water to host community kick-off event on Cape Cod

WHO:

University of Rhode Island (URI), Harvard University, Silent Spring
Institute

WHAT:

Meet the team! Members of the newly-formed STEEP (Sources, Transport,
Exposure and Effects of PFASs) Superfund research center will be in Hyannis
to provide an overview of the project and the critical involvement of Cape
Cod communities in the new center. The five-year STEEP project, led by URI,
will address the emerging problem of highly fluorinated chemicals called
PFASs in drinking water—how these chemicals move through our environment,
how we are exposed through our drinking water, and how they affect our
health.

WHEN:

Monday, December 4th, 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.

WHERE:

Barnstable Town Hall, 2nd Floor Hearing Room, 367 Main Street, Hyannis, MA

SPEAKERS:

Rainer Lohmann (project director), URI Graduate School of Oceanography
Philippe Grandjean (co-director), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Elsie Sunderland, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Angela Slitt and Bongsup Cho, URI College of Pharmacy
Geoff Bothun, URI College of Engineering
Judith Swift, URI Coastal Institute
Alyson McCann, URI College of Environment and Life Sciences
Laurel Schaider, Silent Spring Institute

* Welcome remarks:
Cheryl Osimo, Silent Spring Institute and Massachusetts Breast Cancer
Coalition (MBCC)
Mark Ells, Barnstable Town Manager


BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

PFASs are a class of chemicals added to consumer products to make them
non-stick, waterproof, and stain-resistant. They are also used in
firefighting foams and industrial processes. These chemicals are showing up
in drinking water across the U.S., including the Hyannis Water System and
private wells near Joint Base Cape Cod. Scientists are concerned about
these chemicals because of their potential impacts on health. Because Cape
Cod is on the front lines in dealing with exposure to PFASs, Silent Spring
Institute and their collaborators at the STEEP Superfund Research Center
will be conducting a number of activities on the Cape, including:

     * Testing private wells for PFASs
     * Studying how PFASs enter groundwater from firefighting foams used at
Joint Base Cape Cod
     * Field testing new methods to detect PFASs in surface waters
     * Engaging with residents and officials to share STEEP research
findings and address local concerns.

The STEEP researchers will also study the chemical properties of PFASs and
their specific impact on human health through a long-term health study of
children in the Faroe Islands complemented by laboratory studies.

The project is led by Rainer Lohmann, an oceanographer at URI, and co-led
by Philippe Grandjean, an environmental epidemiologist at Harvard. Local
project partners include MBCC, GreenCAPE, and the Sierra Club Cape & the
Islands group. This project is funded by the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

Questions about the event? Contact: Laurel Schaider,
schaider at silentspring.org, 617-332-4288 x224

More information about STEEP:
https://tools.niehs.nih.gov/srp/programs/Program_detail.cfm?Project_ID=P42ES027706
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