#PFAS Disposal Crisis Symposium: Forever Chemicals & Impacted Communities (Day 1)

#PFAS Disposal Crisis Symposium:
Forever Chemicals & Impacted Communities

Organizations: Cancer Free Economy Network w/ event partners Sierra Club and
Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ)

Dates and times:
Day 1 - Mon, May 23, 2022, 11 AM - 3 PM PT
Day 2 - Tue, May 24, 2022, 11 AM - 3 PM PT

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cfe-pfas-disposal-symposium-registration-323151082587


People living near landfills and incinerators 🏭 🤢 have been burdened with a legacy of toxic waste. Equitable solutions to the #PFASdisposalCrisis cannot shift this toxic pollution onto already overburdened communities.

PFAS have been described as “forever chemicals” because they take decades, or longer, to break down. Although they have been linked to cancer, reproductive health issues, and immune system damage, these toxic chemicals are commonly dumped down wastewater drains, sent to incinerators or landfills, with little thought to the long-term impacts of these disposal options.

As we advance policy solutions regarding PFAS reduction and cleanup, questions regarding equitable disposal of PFAS become more urgent. We must #StopCancerBeforeItStarts, develop new technologies that safely destroy #PFAS, and stop manufacturing and using PFAS instead of shifting these hazards to current and historic sacrifice zones.

With this convening, the Cancer Free Economy Network and our event partners CHEJ and Sierra Club aim to highlight work on PFAS disposal policy and solutions, connect work being done in silos to an overall national strategy and bring together community members, organizers, scientists, government officials and policy experts to discuss current and proposed solutions and begin to form principles for equitable PFAS disposal.

_________________________________________________________________

SUMMIT AGENDA

Translations will be provided by CFE member Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resources Center

May 23rd (DAY ONE)

● Keynote- Linda Birnbaum, Scientist Emeritus, NIEHS and NTP

● Panel 1 - Why Do We Fight? PFAS Disposal Is Harming Our Communities

Pam Miller, Alaska Community Action on Toxics
Tasha Stoiber, Environmental Working Group
Jose Aguayo, Center for Health Environment and Justice

● BREAK

● Panel 2 - How Do We Win? Successful Strategies for Organizing for Equitable PFAS Disposal

Jane Williams - California Communities Against Toxics
Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz - Earthjustice
Cheryl Sommer - United Congregations Metro East
Sherry Costa Hanson - Community Activist from Taunton, MA

● Networking Session

_________________

May 24th (DAY TWO)

● Panel 3 - Where Are We Moving? Safer Models for PFAS Disposal

Daniel Rosenberg - Natural Resources Defense Council
Sonya Lunder - Sierra Club
Doug Hatler- 374Water

● BREAK

● Facilitated breakouts groups on discrete aspects of PFAS disposal issues

● Final Activity- Facilitated group conversation

● Closing
_________________________________________________________________

WHAT ARE PFAS?

In 1946, DuPont introduced nonstick cookware coated with Teflon. Today the family of fluorinated chemicals that sprang from Teflon includes thousands of nonstick, stain-repellent and waterproof compounds called PFAS, short for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances.

PFAS chemicals lurk in stain-resistant furniture and carpets treated with Scotchgard, Stainmaster and other fabric treatments. Clothes labeled stain- or water-repellent, such as Gore-Tex jackets, usually contain PFAS chemicals. PFAS are even in personal care products and cosmetics.

For decades, chemical companies covered up evidence of PFAS’ health hazards. Today nearly all Americans, including newborn babies, have PFAS in their blood, and more than 200 million people may be drinking PFAS-tainted water. What began as a “miracle of modern chemistry” is now a national crisis

(https://www.ewg.org/what-are-pfas-chemicals)
_________________________________________________________________