When firefighters run into a burning building, they know the dangers associated with their job. But new research suggests firefighters are at risk before they ever leave the firehouse.Using a spectroscopic technique and the St. Andre particle accelerator, Notre Dame professor Graham Peaslee has found alarming amounts of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in firefighter gear. These chemicals have been linked to elevated rates of cancer and have also been found in fast-food wrappers, cosmetics, drinking water, carpet and flame retardants. He is now working to test many years of new and used gear to better assess the risks for firefighters.Professor Peaslee’s work in this area has encouraged several companies to reduce or eliminate PFAS, and the EPA and state legislators have also made policy changes. He hopes this new study will make firefighters safer, so they can continue to keep all of us safe.
More from What Would You Fight For?
- 2:01Fighting For Fair HousingIt has been 50 years since the Fair Housing Act made discrimination in buying and selling homes illegal. Fifty years since Edward Brooke, the first African-American senator from Massachusetts, testified that upon his return from World War II, no one would sell him a home because of his race. And 50 years since the act was passed, without debate, just one week after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. But even after 50 years, there’s still discrimination and scheming against minorities who wish to own homes.Notre Dame Law professor Judy Fox is fighting to combat predatory lending and contract for deed, or rent-to-own, schemes that are prevalent in minority neighborhoods. Last year, in Illinois, she was instrumental in passing statewide legislation against these contracts. Similar efforts are underway in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. And at the Notre Dame Economic Justice Clinic, she’s also fighting individual cases.
- 2:01Fighting For Freedom of ThoughtWhen the Soviet Union collapsed, democracies in post-Soviet territories was fragile, and corruption ruled government, business and education. People were killed for speaking out and demanding justice. But there was a beacon of hope — Catholic universities. Because of their spirit of independence, these institutions could teach radical ideas like human dignity, freedom of speech, transparency and justice.Since 2003, the Nanovic Institute for European Studies at the University of Notre Dame has made a commitment to Catholic education in Eastern Europe bringing together administrators and faculty at seven universities to build bridges that will help them speak truth to power.Learn more: https://ntrda.me/FreedomofThought
