STEEP News and Events

• May 19: STEEP and Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Film Screening and Panel Event - This community event is an opportunity for the Tribal community to meet members of the STEEP team and learn about results of PFAS testing of locally-caught fish and shellfish. A 50-minute documentary film about PFAS will be shown followed by a panel discussion. ...Read more

• April 26: Mixtures Biology & Modeling with Applications to PFAS - Talk by Dr. Webster (Boston University) will examine the difficult problem of the biological effects of chemical mixtures using a pharmacodynamic approach. I will discuss the effect of mixtures on receptor activation and the implications for downstream responses. PFAS will provide one example. ...Read more

• March 28: Communicating Science in a Crisis - Thursday, March 28th, 3:30PM-4:30PM. GSO, Coastal Institute Auditorium and via livestream. Speaker: Chris Reddy, Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). One of the world's foremost oil spill scientists, GSO alum Chris Reddy, Ph.D. ‘98, is coming to the URI Bay Campus to discuss communicating science in… ...Read more

• March 13: Canaries of the sea? Baleen whales as sentinels of marine pollution - Presentation by Matthew Savoca, PhD, Research Associate, Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University. Lecture Details: Sentinel species can provide insight into ecosystem function, act as leading indicators of risk to human health, and serve as harbingers of future environmental change. Baleen whales have been well studied as climate and ecosystem sentinels... ...Read more

• March 8: Exploring early origins of cognitive decline: the St. Louis Baby Tooth Study - Date: Friday, March 8th, 2024. Time: Noon -1:00 PM. Location:  URI College of Pharmacy, Avedisian Room #130. Host: University of Rhode Island STEEP Superfund Research Program. Lecture Details: We are building on a landmark study in the 1950’s and 1960’s that collected over 300,000 baby teeth to assess exposure to radiation… ...Read more

• February 28: Careers in Scientific Review and Management - Wednesday, February 28th @ 11am via Zoom. Panelists: Anika Dzierlenga is a scientific program director in the NIEHS Genes, Environment, and Health Branch. Esra Mutlu is a chemist and board-certified toxicologist. ...Read more

• November 8th Seminar PFAS and Diabetes: Links via the Human Metabolome - Dr. Dania Valvi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health and the Co-director of the MS in Epidemiology program at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her research is focused on the impacts of the exposome on the initiation and progression of metabolic diseases in childhood and… ...Read more

• Sept 8: Emergence of PFAS as an Environmental Toxicant - Friday, September 8, 11am to Noon: This lecture will address the delay of crucial information about perfluorinated alkylate substances (PFAS) toxicity and the implications for human health. Recent research has identified adverse effects at lower and lower exposures. While most companies have stopped producing two forms of PFASs— perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and… ...Read more

• May 4: “BURNED: Protecting the Protectors” short film screening & panel discussion - BURNED Protecting the Protectors, from Ethereal Films and produced by Mark Ruffalo, documents the true story of how the spouse of a firefighter revealed significant exposure to PFAS affecting the fire community. Please join us for this… ...Read more

• Passive Sampling: A Simple Solution to A Complex Problem - The world of PFAS is not an easy one to traverse, even for those of us who are so-called experts. PFAS is an abbreviation for a family of thousands of compounds called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. These compounds share common features including… ...Read more

• STEEP Steps on National Stage: Informs House Subcommittees on needed PFAS research and findings - STEEP researcher Elsie Sunderland was among four expert witnesses to testify before a House subcommittee hearing on PFAS. The testimonies highlighted knowledge gaps and technological needs in PFAS research and mitigation, and subcommittee members… ...Read more

• Former STEEP trainee Cindy Hu awarded “Women in Science Incentive Prize” to continue work focused on climate change and the water crisis - Cindy Hu is one of five winners of the first annual Women In Science Incentive Prize. Created in celebration of its 10th anniversary, The Story Exchange announced the winners of this new grant program that recognizes innovative female scientists working in the area of climate change mitigation and adaptation ...Read more

• PFAS advisory: State asks people to limit or not eat fish caught at 5 Cape Cod ponds - After finding fish containing PFAS, Massachusetts public health officials are recommending that people limit or avoid consumption of fish from five ponds near Joint Base Cape Cod, a known source of PFAS from firefighting foams. STEEP researcher Laurel Schaider weighed in on the advisory, commenting on how it relates to drinking water PFAS… ...Read more

• Does PFAS exposure affect COVID-19 illness and vaccine effectiveness? Researchers want to know - STEEP researchers and scientists across the country are working to find out whether PFAS exposure reduces vaccine effectiveness and affects severity of illness. While STEEP researchers have long been studying effects of PFAS on other vaccines, the COVID-19 vaccine… ...Read more

• Nov. 17th Seminar on the Impact of imprecision of exposure assessment in PFAS toxicity evidence by Dr. Philippe Grandjean - Epidemiology studies are generally observational and rely on post hoc exposure assessment, e.g., by measuring PFAS concentrations in serum samples. The advantage in regard to several common PFAS is that they have long elimination half-lives in serum. ...Read more

• State expert recommends blood testing for PFAS contaminant - At a Massachusetts state taskforce meeting last month, experts met to investigate the health effects of PFAS and provide their recommendations to prevent and manage exposure to the chemicals, with a particular emphasis on blood testing for communities with known PFAS… ...Read more

• More communities are finding toxic chemicals in their drinking water - Since Massachusetts enacted a new drinking water standard last fall, many communities have found elevated PFAS levels in their drinking water which is raising concerns among municipal water suppliers regarding the cost for resolution. ...Read more

• June 23: Let’s Talk About PFAS: The Case of the Missing Contaminants - In this installment of the “Let’s Talk About PFAS” webinar series, STEEP scientists will discuss efforts to track down PFAS chemicals in the environment, including previously undetected PFAS on Cape Cod. Their findings raise concerns about the potential impact on drinking water quality and human health. All are welcome, but… ...Read more

• April 14: Let’s Talk About PFAS: Don’t Need It, Don’t Use It - webinar on the essential and non-essential uses of PFAS chemicals in consumer products. Organized by the STEEP Superfund Research Program Center and hosted by the Town of Barnstable. Speaker presentations followed by Q&A with the public. The virtual event is free and open to the public. All are welcome, but registration is required. ...Read more

• RI legislative action urged on ‘forever chemicals’ in food packaging - Rhode Island regulators have renewed efforts to pass legislation to ban PFAS in food packaging and… ...Read more

• March 11th: Let’s Talk About PFAS: Taking Action to Protect Your Health - webinar on the health of effects of PFAS in drinking water. Organized by the STEEP Superfund… ...Read more

• All Nonessential PFAS Should Be Phased Out, Scientists Advise - A team of scientists, including STEEP director Dr. Rainer Lohmann, published another article discussing the high persistence of PFAS and further urge all nonessential use to be phased out. They state that the continual release of PFAS will result in… ...Read more

• PFAS Chemical Associated With Severe Covid-19 - STEEP co-lead Dr. Philippe Grandjean conducted a recent study analyzing the association between PFAS exposure and Covid-19, finding that people with elevated levels of the PFAS compound PFBA were more than twice as… ...Read more

• February 3rd: Let’s Talk About PFAS: How Can I Tell if PFAS Are in My Drinking Water? - webinar on PFAS contaminants in drinking water, organized by the STEEP Superfund Research Program Center and hosted by the Town of Barnstable. Speaker presentations followed by Q&A with the public. The virtual event is… ...Read more

• URI student finds PFAS in seabirds from Narragansett Bay, Mass Bay, Cape Fear - A recent study by STEEP’s Anna Robuck finds PFAS in seabirds from Rhode Island, Massachusetts and North Carolina. These important findings mark the first time novel PFAS compounds have been discovered in liver tissue and urge the need for further… ...Read more

• Newer PFAS compound detected for first time in Arctic seawater - As concerns rise about pervasiveness of PFAS in the environment, scientists examine the most remote regions on Earth. A new research study investigating 29 PFAS compounds in the Arctic Ocean finds HFPO-DA for the first… ...Read more
• Pressure builds to study PFAS, COVID-19 link - Public health experts, including STEEP co-lead and Harvard Professor Dr. Philippe Grandjean, begin research on the relationship between PFAS exposure and COVID-19. ...Read more
• Catch the Highlights: Learn how Policy, health, and justice took center stage at “PFAS In Our World: What We Know and What We Can Do” conference - Policy, health, and justice served as lenses through which PFAS contaminants in drinking water were examined via the recent virtual conference, “PFAS In Our World: What We Know and What We Can Do.” The event,… ...Read more
• Postponed: “FLUOROS 2021 – An International Symposium on Fluorinated Compounds and Their Impacts on Human and Environmental Health” - Opportunity for unbiased, multidisciplinary exchange on PFAS. The FLUOROS symposium dedicated to sharing the latest science on PFAS, “silent” and harmful chemicals often present in common household and business settings, is postponed from October of… ...Read more
• Engaging communities in learning about exposures to PFAS in drinking water - As states across the country move to regulate PFAS contaminants in public water supplies, Laurel Schaider worries about another source of drinking water that is often overlooked: private wells. Approximately 44 million people in the… ...Read more
• State Regulations for Harmful PFAS Expected in May - Efforts are underway in Rhode Island to regulate PFAS in drinking water and food packaging. At a recent Statehouse hearing, the RI Department of Health indicated that preliminary regulations will be released by May. ...Read more
• STEEP Shares Key Finding of Private Well Study at Science Day - STEEP’s Science Day 2019 featured presentations and Q&A with researchers and trainees, the Superintendent of the Hyannis Water System, and staff from Joint Base Cape Cod. View material from the event including a summary of… ...Read more
• Activists including Actor Mark Ruffalo help launch awareness campaign on PFAS chemicals - Health advocates concerned about the health effects of PFAS organized the Fight Forever Chemicals campaign to spread awareness about the widespread public health issue. The campaign was launched to coincide with the release of a… ...Read more
• What Are PFAS Chemicals, and Should I Be Freaking Out About Them? - Knowledge of PFAS chemicals continues to expand as researchers investigate ways to deal with the contaminants. This family of chemicals consists entirely of manmade compounds, each held together by one of the strongest bonds found… ...Read more
• STEEP researcher Dr. Pál Weihe recipient of prestigious 2019 Ramazzini Special Award - The Collegium Ramazzini and the Town of Carpi, Italy proudly recognized Dr. Pál Weihe as the Ramazzini Special Award recipient for 2019. Dr. Pál Weihe is Chair and Chief Physician of the Department of Occupational… ...Read more
• Fast food increases exposure to a ‘forever chemical’ called PFAS - PFAS are a class of chemicals used in many household items and have desirable chemical properties that can make objects water, fire, or stain resistant. They are also used in food packaging materials, but often… ...Read more
• Nearly half of private wells sampled on Cape have PFAS - This study was done by the STEEP Superfund Research Program at the University of Rhode Island and was a collaborative effort with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the state Department of Environmental… ...Read more
• STEEP Science Day October 2, 2019 - The Cape Cod community is invited to connect with STEEP Center scientists, learn about research on PFAS, ask questions, and voice their concerns. STEEP researchers will discuss the science of hazardous chemicals called PFAS and… ...Read more
• N.H. Approves Unprecedented Limits For PFAS Chemicals In Drinking Water - New Hampshire has adopted stringent maximum contaminant levels and ambient groundwater quality standards for 4 PFAS compounds. Environmental groups are lauding the standards while many in the industry feel that they are moving too quickly… ...Read more
• STEEP Trainee Anna Robuck Named 2019 Switzer Fellow - The University of Rhode Island Superfund Research Program is pleased to announce that Trainee Anna Ruth Robuck, a URI doctoral candidate, has been selected as one of the 2019 Switzer Fellows. STEEP Trainee Robuck expressed… ...Read more
• R.I. Balks at Call for Stricter Drinking-Water Standards - Rhode Island environmentalists, scientists, and health advocates say the EPA’s current 70 parts-per-trillion threshold for PFAS is too high. In an R.I. House bill (H6064) they are asking for an interim state standard of 20… ...Read more
• A Lurking Danger for R.I.’s Drinking Water - In September 2017, the Rhode Island Department of Health discovered that 35 wells in Oakland village were contaminated with a class of widely used chemicals that many experts believe is contributing to a global public-health… ...Read more
• Public health experts aim to stop spreading of sludge - Dairy farmer Fred Stone said he never knew the sludge from sewage treatment plants that he applied to his hayfields for decades could be contaminated by PFAS - chemicals increasingly linked to cancer, liver damage,… ...Read more
• Arlene Blum — biophysical chemist, author, and mountaineer — to speak on how to reduce exposure to PFAS on April 17th - Dr. Blum’s science and policy work has drawn attention to the use of and ways to reduce exposure to harmful chemicals, including PFAS. In recognition of her contributions, she was recently inducted to the California… ...Read more
• URI Coastal Institute hosts lecture by STEEP researcher, Dr. Pál Weihe - The Coastal Institute has selected Dr. Pál Weihe as the invited guest for the 7th Annual Scott W. Nixon Lecture, to be held Thursday, April 11th at 3:30 PM at URI's Graduate School of Oceanography.… ...Read more
• Second National Conference on PFAS to be held in Boston - The Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: Second National Conference will be held at Northeastern University on June 10-12, 2019.  Organized by a broad coalition of partners, including the STEEP Superfund Research Program and the Northeastern Superfund… ...Read more
• The Chemistry of David and Goliath - Every environmental crisis needs a hero. DDT had Rachel Carson, the author and scientist who exposed the perils of the pesticide DDT. Hexavelent chromium had Erin Brockovich, a law clerk who helped bring about the… ...Read more
• Tainted water: the scientists tracing thousands of fluorinated chemicals in our environment - Last October in Providence, RI, STEEP Trainee Christine Gardiner learned that PFAS-containing fire-fighting foam was sprayed over a tanker truck spill of more than 12,500 gallons of petrol. She quickly contacted the Rhode Island Department… ...Read more
• EPA releases draft safety levels for GenX, a PFAS chemical manufactured in North Carolina - Long-term exposure to GenX—a PFAS chemical compound made in North Carolina and used for making nonstick coatings—appears to be dangerous, even in minute amounts, according to draft findings released Wednesday by the Environmental Protection Agency.… ...Read more
• Fish School STEEP Scientists - If you have cast a line in a freshwater pond or stream on Cape Cod, there is a good chance you baited your hook with a fathead minnow to lure in a trophy trout or… ...Read more
• The Devil We Know Screening at URI - The Devil We Know—a 2018 Sundance Film Festival Selection—chronicles a group of West Virginians as they take on a powerful corporation that dumped PFAS into their drinking water supply. The film will be followed by… ...Read more
• Public Health v. Big Chemicals: A Case of Social Justice - Hear Robert Bilott, a nationally recognized environmental attorney, speak about representing thousands of individuals with serious disease claims due to exposure to PFAS released into their drinking water by DuPont in West Virginia. Thursday, November… ...Read more
• STEEP’s Laurel Schaider Spoke to NPR About PFAS Health Risks - Schaider highlights that PFAS chemicals have been linked to a wide range of health effects, including cancer, low birth weight, thyroid disease, elevated cholesterol and effects on the immune system. Manufacturers have agreed to stop… ...Read more
• Co-director Philippe Grandjean talks to Science for the Public about industry PFAS data - Scientists like Dr. Grandjean point out that they need access to data collected by the industries that produce PFAS-containing chemicals. Scientists who have studied the impact of PFAS have recently learned that the producers of… ...Read more
• STEEP Director Lohmann discusses well water testing on Cape Cod with RI Public Radio - Lohmann is concerned that well water may have been contaminated by residue from firefighting foam that entered the groundwater following military training exercises at Joint Base Cape Cod. Since May, more than 150 households in… ...Read more
• STEEP Scientists Track PFAS - The STEEP Superfund Program exists to assess public health risks from a group of chemicals developed to fight aeronautic fires, create nonstick pans, no-iron shirts, non-stain carpets and upholstery, water repellent hiking gear, and even… ...Read more
• Editorial by STEEP’s Dr. Philippe Grandjean - In a recent editorial in Environmental Health, Dr. Philippe Grandjean argues that chemical substitutes for PFAS should be subjected to research scrutiny prior to widespread usage and highlights the substantial delay learning the negative health… ...Read more
• Dr. Philippe Grandjean takes STEEP concerns to Capitol Hill - STEEP co-director Philippe Grandjean joined Arlene Blum and Tom Bruton (Green Science Policy Institute) and Robert Bilott (Taft, Stettinius and Hollister, LLP) in Washington DC to discuss protecting America's drinking water from PFAS with Congressional… ...Read more
• Cape Cod residents attended STEEP Science Day in Hyannis at the Barnstable Town Hall - Cape Cod residents were invited to meet the STEEP team and hear research updates at STEEP Science Day. Community members were encouraged to voice concerns, ask for clarification of research, learn about PFAS-linked adverse health… ...Read more
• Dr. Philippe Grandjean discusses ~20 year delay before PFAS toxicity known to public. - (May 27-30, 2018, The Faroe Islands) STEEP researcher, Dr. Philippe Grandjean, serves as co-chair of international conference focused on the impacts of toxic chemicals – including PFAS – on prenatal health. The conference be held… ...Read more
• Notes from the Field - STEEP trainee and NOAA Nancy Foster Scholar Anna Robuck is aboard the R/V Warren Jr. collecting passive samplers for PFAS from across Massachusetts Bay on a series of acoustic moorings, as well as gathering water… ...Read more
• STEEP trainees wins KC Donnelly Externship Award - Congratulations to STEEP trainee Dr. Jitka Bacanova on her NIEHS Superfund Research Program KC Donnelly Externship. Dr. Bacanova will be working at the R. Hurt laboratory at Brown University testing passive samplers for PFAS in… ...Read more
• STEEP launches well water testing study - Cape Cod residents have been invited to have private well water tested for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as part of new STEEP study. The findings will help researchers understand the extent of PFAS exposure… ...Read more
• STEEP on the Move - Nine STEEP researchers and eight trainees attended the 2018 Northeast Superfund Research Program (SRP) Meeting in Woods Hole, MA on March 26-27. The URI-led STEEP center includes partners from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of… ...Read more
• STEEP researcher served as expert witness in settled Minnesota v. 3M lawsuit - 3M used PFAS since the late ‘40s, continued disposing of them in Minnesota dumpsites until the ‘70s, and completely phased them out in ’02. STEEP researcher Philippe Grandjean, stated experiments on lab specimens and surveys… ...Read more

Past STEEP News and Events