Please could you introduce yourself & provide a brief summary of your career to date?
I am the Washington, DC-based environment reporter for The Guardian US. I have previously
covered environment agencies and the White House for Politico, E&E News and CQ Roll
Call. I grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and graduated from Louisiana State University
(LA, USA).
You have recently been awarded with the Endocrine Society Award for Excellence in
Science & Medical Journalism based on your article ‘Is modern life poisoning me? I
took the tests to find out’ please could you provide an overview of this work?
This story was the launch piece for a Guardian series called Toxic America, where
we explored how everyday chemical exposures affect Americans and why the regulatory
system is so much more lenient here than in Europe and the UK. We wanted our readers
to be able to relate to this very complex topic, so we decided a first-person piece
would be best for explaining why an individual should care about the chemicals used
in their cosmetics, furniture, food and water. I decided to seek testing of my own
body and discovered that it is nearly impossible for the average American to do so.
We eventually partnered with researchers Mount Sinai (NY, USA) and Oregon State University
(OR, USA) to obtain the limited information that is available. Mount Sinai tested
urine samples for a range of chemicals that are linked with various health problems.
Oregon State provided me with a wristband that could detect chemicals I encountered
in the environment that might not readily show up in a urine or blood test.
What did the study results show?
Essentially, I have many of the chemicals in my body that you might expect for an
American living in a city. What is more difficult to determine is whether the amounts
and mixtures of the chemicals that I have absorbed might be dangerous to me. The urine
tests showed 36 chemicals in my body including phthalates, which are used to make
plastics flexible; and flame retardants, which are found in many home furnishings.
They also revealed pesticides, phenols (likely also from plastics), polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons from air pollution and cotinine from second-hand cigarette smoke.
The wristband detected 12 chemicals out of the 1530 it analyzed. Most were fragrances
used in body care products and cleaning supplies. Some were phthalates, and one was
a flame retardant. Phthalates were my major concern because they can mimic hormones
and disrupt the endocrine system, and because they are easily avoidable if you reduce
your plastic usage – which I had been motivated to do already. Unfortunately, there
are few ways to measure childhood exposures, which can have a big impact on health.
If I could have found one of my baby teeth, we would have tested that too. Alas, my
parents could not locate it.
How did you become involved in researching the science of exposomics?
In our first brainstorm for ideas on Toxic America, I suggested that we should test
a group or Americans or even just one of our writers for exposures. I quickly realized
how difficult that would be. I became even more fascinated with the field of study
after long discussions with Robert Wright at Mount Sinai and Leonardo Trasande at
the New York University (NY, USA). In climate science, we have many of the answers
we need about what is happening and how to make it stop. In exposomics, the solutions
are much blurrier. We still do not understand how the chemicals we absorb – almost
all of which are unregulated in the US – affect us. For those that we do have good
information on, we are largely ignoring that information.
The science of our exosome in relation to endocrinopathies & oncology is an underrepresented
field. Why do you believe that this area of research is growing so slowly?
I think Americans have been taught to believe that if something bad happens to their
bodies, it is either inevitable or it is their fault. Our health system focuses on
lifestyle and just ignores environment. That is baffling to me. I have never had a
doctor ask me a single question about my home, my workspace or my possible childhood
exposures (which were likely high because I grew up so near to petrochemical facilities).
Patients do not yet know to ask doctors about these things. As they learn more about
how the government is failing to protect them, I think they will demand better information.
You state in the article that performing this study made you somewhat more conscious
of your surroundings & what products you were using. Do you think that this had any
negative psychosocial implications, as indicated by Paolo Vineis (Imperial College
London, UK)?
As a reporter, particularly an environment and climate reporter in the US, I know
a lot of things that are unsettling. I think that background has taught me to compartmentalize
and keep some mental space from my work. That said, I am glad that I know so much
more about my exposures because I can make very easy decisions that help to limit
them. As long as I am doing the best I can, I feel good about that. I am sure, however,
that many people would have trouble stomaching what they find. Knowledge allows us
to make personal decisions to protect ourselves, but it also allows us to demand better
of our leaders. That is worth any emotional toll it might take, in my opinion.
As it has been a year since this story was published, what would you say was the biggest
take home message & how has your lifestyle changed since doing this story?
Overall, I eat as many fresh fruits and vegetables as possible. I exercise, and I
do everything I can to limit my stress. Every health professional I spoke with, said
those are the three most important things to do to strengthen your body so it can
handle the exposures of the modern world.
I also avoid plastics whenever possible, especially thin plastic packaging with hot
food. I buy fewer things in general because many are hard to find without plastic
of some sort. This is a lifestyle change I have made both to limit chemical exposures
and to limit the harm, I take part in when I buy plastic – from its fossil-fuel-based
production to its contamination of poorer countries and the oceans.
I filter my water with a filter that I know catches the major contaminants that are
common in my specific water system. I am much more careful about anything I put on
my body because we know the skin very easily absorbs chemicals. I use cleaning products
with only naturally-derived ingredients, especially in my shower and tub. I avoid
any synthetic fragrance, including in candles. I have a well-tested air filter in
my bedroom and another in my kitchen. When I cook with the gas stove in my rented
apartment, I use the back burner, open the window and turn on fans.
I have become a much wiser consumer when major purchases are necessary. We recently
bought a new sofa and I insisted that it should not have flame retardants. It was
surprisingly hard to find.