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Our chemical world has made the job of fighting fires even more dangerous than it was.....

This week on Green Street, Patti and Doug talk about plastic in fertilizer ending up in our food supply, how the FDA allows 950 food additives that are prohibited in Europe, and how firefighters face a higher risk of brain cancer because of certain chemicals they are exposed to on the job. Then nationally-recognized hazmat expert and firefighter Silverio Caggiano talks about the new challenges facing firefighters today and his experience with the East Palestine rail disaster. More information and links can be found on our show website, GreenStreetNews.org


Fighting Fire in a Toxic Word - Silverio Caggiano

Links from the Interview

Buckeye Environmental Network (where Silverio Caggiano is a board member) https://benohio.org/


Links from the News

How the food industry escapes scrutiny from the FDA: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-chemicals-food-supply/ Firefighters face a higher risk of brain cancer from chemical: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03-firefighters-higher-brain-cancer-gene.html



 
 
 

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

Links from the Interview

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

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


Links from the News:




 
 
 

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

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





 
 
 
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