Ripples: PFAS and Plastics in Our Lives and Waterways

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are synthetic toxic “forever” chemicals found in a variety of household and industry products and they are in the environment and in our lives. In this panel presentation on Tuesday, May 6, 7-8pm at the First Congregational Church in Williamstown MA, we will learn more about the paths PFAS and plastics enter our waterways and our bodies.

David Bond, Bennington College professor, will offer broad insights from his research on PFAS in Bennington VT wells and Deborah Burns, a Beyond Plastics representative, will show the path plastic trash takes downstream from our rivers into the ocean and far across the world.

Q&A will follow after both their presentations.

This program is free and open to the public and is brought to you by the Hoosic River Watershed Association (HooRWA), First Congregational Church Williamstown, and the Williams College Zilkha Center for the Environment.

Bios:

David Bond is the Associate Director, Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA) and Faculty Member at Bennington College. David works with communities besieged by the fossil fuel industry to develop a more transformative grasp of environmental justice for people, politics, and critical theory. Read more about his work and publications HERE.

Deb Burns grew up on Park Street in Williamstown, just a five-minute walk from the Hoosic River. As a young adult she traveled the world and then returned to Williamstown to raise a family. After retiring from a 30 years as a book editor at Storey Publishing, she joined the Speakers’ Bureau at Beyond Plastics, based in Bennington. Her special interests are the history of plastic and how it travels within a river system and beyond.