Episode 17 of Grass Roots Health:What is in our Water may be Killing Us! An Interview with Jamie DeWitt, Ph.D.

Were you aware that we are literally “swimming” in a sea of chemicals that may be killing us?

 

These chemicals are everywhere and in everything including our air, food, water, medical devices, medical implants, non-stick pans, personal care products, stain-resistant carpet and furniture, cardboard packaging, building materials, and firefighting foam.

 

These chemicals called “forever chemicals” or PFAS (i.e., per and polyfluoroalkyl substances) were discovered in the 1930’s and were not regulated (for some strange reason) by the U.S. EPA until the early 2000s. Meanwhile, millions of unsuspecting Americans (maybe even you) have been exposed to them repeatedly.

 

These chemicals are called “forever chemicals” because of how slowly they break down in the environment and in our bodies. Researchers have reported that exposure to certain levels of these PFAS chemicals increases human risk of cancer, decreases fertility, and damages our immune systems.   

 

In this January 2024 episode, host Tim Jordan explores this topic with one of the most knowledgeable people in the United States: Jamie DeWitt, Ph.D., Director of the Environmental Health Center at Oregon State University. You will want to listen to this!       

 

Resources for this podcast:

 

• Article: Samora, S. (2023). The History of PFAS: From World War II to Your Teflon Pan. https://www.manufacturingdive.com/news/the-history-behind-forever-chemicals-pfas-3m-dupont-pfte-pfoa-pfos/

 

• Oregon State University: https://oregonstate.edu/

 

• Dr. DeWitt’s Academic Department: https://emt.oregonstate.edu/

 

• Dr. DeWitt’s Website: www.toxicologychick.com

 

• NC State University’s Superfund Research Center: https://superfund.ncsu.edu/

 

• Environmental Working Group PFAS Map: https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/pfas_contamination/

 

• Green Science Policy Institute PFAS Data Hub: https://pfascentral.org/data-hub/

 

• Movie: “Dark Waters” - On YouTube, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvAOuhyunhY

 

• Listen to all episodes of Grass Roots Health: FREE! https://1795group.com/podcast/ or wherever people get podcasts.

 

• Blogs on Important Issues: Free! https://1795group.com/blog/

 

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Interested in becoming a sponsor of this podcast? Contact me:  tjordan@1795group.com

 

Thoughts? Feedback? Suggestions for topics or guests? Contact me at: tjordan@1795group.com

 

Grass Roots Health is sponsored by the 1795 Group. www.1795group.com

 

Grass Roots Health is produced by Tim Jordan. Jamie DeWitt, Ph.D. was booked by Tim Jordan. Artwork by Danielle Procopio. Audio editing and mastering by Christopher Stoll of Audio Flare Recording, Toledo, OH: https://www.audioflare.com/  Website design by Alex Brinkman, Green Tree Media, Perrysburg, Ohio www.greentreemediallc.com