The University of Rhode Island (URI) STEEP Superfund Research Center is hosting a conference, “PFAS In Our World: What We Know and What We Can Do,” October 13 and 14, 2020. The virtual event will focus on the expanding crisis of PFAS contaminants in our drinking water and the policy, health, and environmental justice implications. The conference will also emphasize the exchange of ideas among early-career scientists and how science can advance policies to protect communities from contamination.

Ian Cousins, professor of environmental organic chemistry at Stockholm University in Sweden, will deliver a keynote address on the essential and non-essential uses of PFAS—grouping PFAS according to their societal benefits and needs in order to facilitate their phase-out. Other meeting highlights include:

• Linda Birnbaum, former head of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), will give a talk on environmental policy and how young scientists and voters can support effective policymaking.
• Andrea Amico from Testing for Pease in New Hampshire and Mark Favors from Fountain Valley Clean Water Coalition in Colorado will share the perspective of communities disproportionately impacted by PFAS contamination.

Read the full program for “PFAS in Our World.” Registration for the meeting is open to the public. Although, the event is aimed at NIEHS Superfund Centers trainees, graduate students, and early-career scientists, anyone interested in the intersection of science, technology, environmental justice, and social equity is encouraged to attend. The conference will be followed by a free workshop on October 15-16 hosted by Green Science Policy Institute.