Living in a World of Chemicals - with Dr. Arlene Blum

We all live in a chemical soup, and some of those chemicals can be really harmful. Dr. Arlene Blum is working to make things better.

This week on Green Street, Patti and Doug talk about big problems for Fiji water, how the EPA is eliminating a database of hazardous chemicals used by scientists around the world, and how RFK Jr., wants to eliminate food dyes from most foods in America. Then Dr. Arlene Blum, founder and CEO of the Green Science Policy Institute, talks about the health and safety problems associated with flame retardants in lithium-ion battery housings, and her work trying to get regulators to look substances, in this case polymers, that are currently unregulated.

Living in a World of Chemicals with Dr. Arlene Blum

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Links from the Interview

Home page of the amazing Dr. Arlene Blum: https://www.arleneblum.com/

The Green Chemistry Policy Institute: https://greensciencepolicy.org/

Dr. Blum's latest column in Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/arleneblum/2025/02/02/why-are-toxic-flame-retardants-in-your-earbuds/

Links from the News:

The Plastic Pollution Coalition files a lawsuit against Fiji water: https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/blog/2025/2/3/plastic-pollution-coalition-files-false-and-deceptive-marketing-complaint-against-makers-of-fiji-water

Republicans take aim at the EPA's IRIS database: https://www.propublica.org/article/legislation-targets-epa-science-toxic-chemicals

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to rid the food supply of harmful dyes: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/12/rfk-jr-pressures-pepsico-kraft-heinz-to-remove-artificial-dyes.html#:~:text=Removing%20artificial%20dyes%20from%20the,that%20was%20viewed%20by%20CNBC.

The Plastic Recycling Scam - with Dr. Veena Singla

The plastic industry is desperately trying to convince us that they can recycle plastic. Too bad it doesn't work.

This week on Green Street, Patti and Doug talk about the link between plastic food containers and heart disease, how climate change is threatening drinking water, and how RFK’s promise to regulate hazardous chemicals by getting rid of corporate influence will sit with the corporate cronies President Trump has selected to staff the EPA. Then Columbia University’s Dr. Veena Singla talks about her career studying the various methods being used by the plastic industry to try to make their products seem sustainable. 

The Plastic Recycling Scam with Dr. Veena Singla

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Links from the Interview

Dr. Singla's page at the Sustainable Packaging Coalition: https://sustainablepackaging.org/people/veena-singla/

The Burning Truth Behind Chemical Recycling (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJGDCCgELMk

Links from the News Eating from plastic containers may increase the risk of heart disease: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/12/plastic-food-containers-heart-failure

Climate change is putting drinking water a risk: https://e360.yale.edu/features/climate-change-drinking-water

RFK has his work cut out for him working with the EPA: https://www.eenews.net/articles/can-trump-make-america-healthy-again-with-this-epa/

The Loneliness of MCS

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) can mean a lifetime of discomfort, exclusion and loneliness.

This week on Green Street, Patti and Doug discuss the health hazards of tatoos (the inks can be toxic) and the plight of minority communities in the area of Texas called "Cancer Alley." Then Dr. Ann McCampbell and Susie Molloy discuss their battles with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS),and how they have learned to live with this often debilitating condition.

Green Street - Loneliness of MCS

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Links from the interview:

• Summary of MCS:https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/multiple-chemical-sensitivity

• Dr. Ann McCampbell:https://annmccampbellmd.com/

• Effects of chemical sensitivities (study) :https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335518300457

Links from the news:

• Tattoos linked to lymphoma risks:https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2024/06/06/tattoos-linked-to-21-higher-risk-of-malignant-lymphoma-new-study-says/

• "Cancer Alley" residents are facing more than a lifetime exposure limit of carcinogens:https://www.ehn.org/cancer-alley-ethylene-oxide-2668508581.html