Silent Spring Institute

09/05/2025

📢On September 18, the STEEP Superfund team is kicking off the fall with an important webinar on PFAS contamination in Cape Cod drinking water and related health concerns. 💧🩺

This session will offer valuable insights not just for Cape Cod residents, but for communities across the country and researchers working at the intersection of science and public health.

This is the third webinar in the series: "PFAS on Cape Cod – Connecting Communities with Science for Solutions"

Featured speakers:

🔹Dr. Laurel Schaider, Senior Scientist at Silent Spring Institute and a lead researcher with STEEP
🔹Cheryl Osimo, Executive Director of Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition and Cape Cod Coordinator for Silent Spring Institute
🔹Dr. Emily Diamond (moderator), Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island and a researcher with STEEP

👉 Register today to join the conversation! https://uri-edu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5LtNR54yRTKMoz7uZBUfVg #/registration

09/03/2025

🌟 Honoring a Legacy 🌟

We are proud to present the inaugural Susan S. Bailis Champion Award to the Bailis Family – Larry Bailis, Kathryn Bailis Phillips, and David Bailis – at our Gala Celebration on October 9.
Susan Bailis was a passionate advocate for Silent Spring Institute’s research on the environmental causes of breast cancer. Until her death from breast cancer in 2000, Susan championed the institute’s mission by creating the Susan S. Bailis Research Fund. The fund raised over $4.5 million, amplifying Silent Spring’s work. Today, her family continues her legacy. Susan’s husband, Larry, has served on our board of directors since 2007. Susan’s daughter, Kathryn, is a breast cancer survivor who has shared her mother’s legacy as Director of Program at Runway for Recovery. Susan’s son, David, is an accomplished musician who also promotes health and wellness for touring musicians.

Learn more about our honorees by visiting silentspring.org/gala

08/29/2025

🌟 Meet our first Rachel Carson Young Environmentalist Award Honoree! 🌟

On October 9 at our annual gala, we are delighted to celebrate Eniola Shokunbi, a fearless 12-year-old changemaker who is leading the charge for cleaner air in schools. Eniola played a key role in securing an $11.5 million grant to bring inexpensive DIY Corsi-Rosenthal air filters to classrooms across Connecticut. These air filters significantly improve air quality, creating safer, healthier learning environments for students and teachers alike. Eniola is on a mission to expand this initiative nationwide, while inspiring young people to become leaders in STEAM and advocate for environmental health.

Learn more about our honorees by visiting silentspring.org/gala

08/27/2025

Thank you to our community of corporate sponsors for supporting Silent Spring’s Gala Celebration on October 9! We are grateful to have you join us in our mission to uncover the environmental causes of breast cancer.
The TJX Companies, Inc.
Eastern Bank
Marble Harbor Investment Counsel, LLC
The Village Bank
William Blair
Credo Beauty
Timber Creek Capital Management
Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition
Multipure
Baker Tilly
Katie Martell

Join our sponsors in giving by visiting silentspring.org/gala

08/25/2025

Have you ever learned something new or surprising from a social media influencer—like which ingredients to avoid in your personal care products?

We want to hear from you!

Silent Spring Institute and the Resilient Sisterhood Project are teaming up again on the POWER Study (Product Options for Women-Engaged Research) to understand how people are using social media to learn about safer, healthier products—and your voice matters!

⏱ Take our 3–5 minute survey
✔ Must be 18 or older

🔗 To participate, head to: https://neu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9XoyLOwTFUcMwx8

The POWER Study is a community-based research project supported by the HHS Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDC) Innovator Award Competition, a grant initiative aimed at identifying gaps in knowledge and innovative solutions to improve Black women’s health.

08/20/2025

🌟 You’re invited! 🌟
Join us for Silent Spring Institute’s Gala Celebration on October 9, 2025, at the Museum of Science, Boston for an unforgettable evening honoring trailblazers in environmental health and justice.

Honoring:
•Peggy Shepard, Co-founder and Executive Director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice
•Eniola Shokunbi, our first Young Environmentalist Award recipient and a bold 12-year-old advocate for cleaner air in schools
•The Bailis Family (Larry, Kathryn, and David), as we proudly present the inaugural Susan S. Bailis Champion Award in her memory

With special guests:
Katie Martell, dynamic host and storyteller
Jacqueline Towers-Perkins, renowned auctioneer bringing heart and energy to the stage

Be part of a night filled with inspiration, impact, and community. Learn more and RSVP Today: silentspring.org/gala

08/16/2025

Children’s growing bodies are more sensitive to chemical exposures. With school just around the corner, follow these tips to get your kids off to a healthy start! ✏️📚

🥪Plastic containers can leach endocrine disrupting chemicals such as BPA and phthalates, especially when holding hot foods and liquids. Switch to stainless steel containers instead to reduce exposures.

🧼Kids’ hands easily pick up chemicals and microbes from handling products and touching surfaces. Teach kids to wash their hands regularly, especially before eating, to limit chemical exposures and prevent the spread of germs.

🌳Schools can reduce the use of pesticides on playing fields by adopting Integrated Pest Management (IPM)—a safer, more sustainable approach. For more information, see EPA’s IPM resources for schools and childcare (bit.ly/4lkUAfz ).

🧽Cleaning products can contain harsh chemicals that trigger asthma and disrupt hormones. Share with your school district the Toxics Use Reduction Institute's CleanerSolutions database to find safer alternatives (cleanersolutions.org).

👕A recent study by Silent Spring found that children’s clothing labeled "stain-resistant" often contains high levels of PFAS chemicals. Clothing sits directly on our skin, and when washed, chemicals from the fabric end up in our waterways. Choose untreated clothing to help protect both kids and the environment.

📣In addition to changing your personal habits, speak up, take a stand, and demand that government and industry take responsibility for curbing toxics. Visit Toxic-Free Future (toxicfreefuture.org) to learn how you can help.

For more healthy living tips, download Silent Spring's free mobile app, Detox Me: detoxmeapp.org

08/12/2025

🔥 It’s wildfire season — and there's one group that is especially vulnerable to toxic chemicals in smoke: firefighters. 👩‍🚒‍🚒

Our partners at UC Davis are measuring PFAS in blood samples collected from firefighters in California. We're working with them to report back results in a way that’s empowering, and helps firefighters understand their exposures and take steps to reduce risks on the job. 💪

📢 Learn more about Silent Spring’s innovative approach to sharing chemical exposure results with communities: https://silentspring.org/news/helping-firefighters-protect-themselves-hazardous-chemicals-job

How a practice developed by Silent Spring continues to shape public health

08/08/2025

Three important bits of news this week show how toxic chemicals are gaining a new level of visibility—and urgency.

This week, The New York Times’ David Wallace-Wells laid bare the extent to which plastics, endocrine disruptors, and other harmful chemicals have infiltrated our bodies, asking bluntly: “What are we going to do about it?” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/opinion/contamination-exposome.html

On the heels of his call to action, a new report by Deep Science Ventures out of the UK declared toxic chemicals one of the greatest threats to human health and the environment--linking chemical exposures to rising cancer rates, declining fertility, and a surge in chronic disease, and calls for innovation to drive solutions. https://www.deepscienceventures.com/toxicity

And in her new book Cleaning House, Lindsay Dahl urges us to turn off the tap of toxic chemicals as she makes a compelling case that a safer world will only arrive through systemic change. https://lindsaydahl.substack.com/p/its-official-my-book-is-on-shelvesheres

Take home message: Addressing this crisis will require action on multiple fronts and multiple sectors. Let’s get to work.

The toxic byproducts of human civilization are everywhere. Even in our bodies.

08/04/2025

As negotiations for a global plastics treaty resume in Switzerland this week, Silent Spring's Dr. Jennifer Kay and Rashmi Shakti explain why the treaty is essential -- not only for tackling the skyrocketing production of plastics and curbing plastic pollution, but also for addressing rising rates of cancer, including breast cancer.

Check out their guest commentary for the Collaborative for Health and Environment.

07/30/2025

The Trump administration wants to build data center projects on Superfund sites, and with as little oversight as possible.

“For Superfund sites in particular, these are the most contaminated sites in the country. It's important there are comprehensive reviews both for the people who are going to be working on the sites and the people who surround them,” says Jennifer Ohayon, research scientist at Silent Spring Institute.

It’s another attack on bedrock environmental protections in the US.

07/29/2025

📢 A new study led by Silent Spring Institute shows that Instagram influencers can drive real change by educating Black women about endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) commonly found in beauty and personal care products. 💄🧼🧴

EDCs are chemicals that interfere with the body’s hormones and can lead to serious health problems. 😕

Why this matters:
Black women have higher exposure to many EDCs and are more likely to experience health conditions linked to EDCs, including diabetes, early puberty, fibroids, and more aggressive forms of breast and endometrial cancers.

Take action:
🚀 Share this post with your networks.
🌿 Reduce your exposures. Look for paraben-, phthalate-, and fragrance-free products.
🧴 Ask brands about their chemical safety policies.
📣 Advocate for stronger government regulations that restrict toxic ingredients in products.

Learn more:

Research shows social media influencers can increase knowledge among Black women about endocrine disrupting chemicals in products that could harm their health.