Many per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used to make oil-, stain- and water-repellent surfaces for products such as carpeting, clothing and cookware. However, as a result of their production and use, PFAS are being found in air, food, soil and water as well as the bodies of wildlife and humans. Is it possible to measure how much PFAS there are in North Carolina? Where do we start and what do we measure? Once PFAS are in our bodies, what can they do to our health? In this presentation, scientists from Duke University and East Carolina University will talk about how their work and the work of other scientists in the state is helping to answer these questions.

Featured Speakers

Lee Ferguson, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Environmental Science & Engineering at Duke University. He has focused his career on developing and applying new technologies for detecting and measuring emerging pollutants such as PFAS in the ambient environment.

Jamie DeWitt, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at East Carolina University. She started her work with PFAS in 2005 and focuses on what exposure to these compounds can do to both the adult and developing immune systems.

This science cafe will be held at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

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