A special edition of Collaborative for the Earth airs at 6 p.m. Saturday. This week's program takes a hard look at PFAS, commonly known as "forever chemicals," found in products ranging from firefighting foam to nonstick cookware. There has been increasing evidence that connects these compounds to a surge in cancer among younger adults, and other troubling modern-day public health crises that researchers haven't been able to fully explain.
The broadcast also touches on how the issue of PFAS has managed to unite unlikely allies politically, as the chemicals have drawn scrutiny from both the Make America Healthy Again movement championed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; and environmental advocates, who have been ringing the alarm bells about industrial pollution for decades.
Listeners will hear from communities living near contaminated sites, along with competing theories on what exactly is driving the nation's decline in public health. The program also raises a pointed question: why have these chemicals received far less attention than vaccines, or other public health flashpoints?
This crisis has been hiding in plain sight for years, echoing past public health disasters such as asbestos or lead exposure. You'll get all the details starting at 6 p.m. Saturday on 88.9 KETR.