11/01/2024
Title: From Music to Advocacy: A Journey to Expose the Truth About PFAS Chemicals
(This message was refined over eleven rounds of edits to capture the full scope and details accurately.)
This page began back in 2011 as a space to share music, and music has continued here ever since. Over time, it evolved to include low-budget short films made in partnership with a friend. Today, however, this page has taken a drastic turn due to an urgent need to address PFAS contamination. For those curious, a quick search of “Gordon County PFAS” will provide an idea of the scope of the issue, and for those unfamiliar with PFAS—often called “forever chemicals”—a simple search will reveal the alarming details.
Now, the focus is on raising awareness about PFAS to inform the national public through a mix of academic research and media-based advocacy. Starting in Jersey City and New York City, this effort has access to historically polluted waterways and proximity to major media outlets, which enhances the ability to raise awareness on a large scale.
Previous work in Gordon County successfully informed the community, spurred legal actions, and enabled residents to make informed health decisions. Currently, Gordon County is seeing new legal efforts gain traction, including attention brought by national advocate Erin Brockovich, as well as a former attorney from the Southern Environmental Law Center actively seeking individuals affected by PFAS contamination to support them in navigating legal questions.
In Gordon County, Pine Chapel Road and Sludge Field 11 are considered ground zero for PFAS contamination, with some PFAS levels in the Coosawattee River recorded at over 200,000 parts per trillion. For context, the EPA’s health advisory for PFOA and PFOS chemicals is set at 4 parts per trillion, and the EPA now suggests that any level above zero parts per trillion can pose health risks. Exposure to PFAS chemicals has been linked to various health conditions, including cancers, liver and kidney damage, hormone disruption, immune system effects, developmental issues in children, and elevated cholesterol levels.
Efforts to address the PFAS crisis locally were challenging. Neither local nor state health departments in Georgia have shown significant engagement with the issue in Gordon County, which is especially striking given that the CDC, a national health agency, is headquartered in the same state. This lack of coordinated health response has created further difficulties for affected communities seeking information and support.
Through these experiences, a vast knowledge of PFAS has been gained, allowing for a broader ability to educate others. AI has become a transformative tool in this research, enabling the rapid synthesis of vast quantities of data—an approach also used by institutions like Harvard. While AI may raise concerns, responsible and ethical use has the potential to greatly accelerate the understanding of PFAS.
PFAS contamination is pervasive. These chemicals have been detected in places as remote as the Arctic and are present in wildlife such as polar bears. The mission has now expanded to a national level. Growing up on Pine Chapel Road—now known as Sludge Field 11—and witnessing contamination impact the land and waterways from Gordon County to Alabama drives a need to test and understand contamination levels in significant water bodies, including the lakes in Central Park and the Hudson River in New York City. Additionally, in Jersey City, Reservoir 3 has recently reopened for public hiking access, but direct access to the water is restricted due to other pollution concerns. I am planning to test this reservoir specifically for PFAS, as no such testing has been conducted there to date.
The EPA’s PFOA Stewardship Program allowed chemical companies until 2015 to phase out the more harmful long-chain PFAS compounds voluntarily. However, in the same year, DuPont introduced GenX, a short-chain PFAS chemical intended as a “safer” alternative to PFOA. Unfortunately, GenX has since been found to carry its own health risks, including links to cancers and other adverse health effects.
Although emerging PFAS remediation methods, such as reverse osmosis, incineration, and radiation, have shown potential, each method produces its own waste by-product. For example, reverse osmosis, while effective in filtering PFAS, results in concentrated sludge that must be safely disposed of, presenting additional environmental challenges. No current remediation method is entirely waste-free, creating a situation akin to nuclear waste disposal where long-term containment is necessary while science works toward a complete solution.
There is hope that advancements in science and public policy will address this issue. States like Maine have begun restricting the sale of certain agricultural products from PFAS-contaminated lands, and some areas have issued no-hunt advisories due to contamination in local wildlife. It’s expected that more states will soon issue advisories on hunting, agricultural practices, and water use in PFAS-contaminated areas. However, at the federal level, coordinated action remains limited. Despite the CDC’s role in efficiently managing public health during COVID-19, responses to PFAS contamination have lagged.
This work seeks to contribute to the broader understanding of PFAS, a problem that won’t go away soon, and one that demands informed, collective action. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask, and be well.
