February 28, 2013
Mountain climber, writer and environmental scientist Arlene Blum visited Hamilton on Thursday, Feb. 21, to give a talk titled “Mountains and Molecules.” Blum first came to fame in the world of mountain climbing in 1970 as a member of the first all-female climbing team to ascend Mount McKinley. In 1975, she became the first woman to attempt the ascent of Mount Everest. She has since led several other notable climbs. Blum has also been instrumental in the regulation of flame-retardants in furniture and pajamas.
Blum, a graduate of Reed College, attributes a great deal of her success to the liberal arts education she received. Her education allowed her to think creatively and explore her interests. Blum began climbing, and after her experience with Mount McKinley in Denali, she realized that “one could do really tough things.” She had several more climbing expeditions until the death of climbing friend Bruce Carson. She wanted to do something to preserve his memory and decided to apply herself to the world of chemical and environmental safety.
At the time, children’s pajamas were treated with a flame retardant commonly referred to as “Tris.” Children’s pajamas contained up to 10% of the compound, which was transferred to the children. After researching the compound, Blum and other scientists discovered that the compound altered DNA and showed carcinogenic behavior. Just as her research was gaining momentum, Blum was invited to ascend Mount Everest. So while climbing the mountain, Blum wrote her paper and had it sent by mail runner. Shortly after publication, chlorinated Tris was removed from children’s pajamas. It would be replaced by brominated Tris, which behaved similarly to chlorinated Tris and was later removed. Following this success, Blum returned to the world of climbing for 26 years.
In 2006, Blum’s daughter encouraged her to reenter the world of chemistry. Blum learned that chlorinated Tris, one of the compounds that she helped remove from children’s pajamas, was now being used as a flame retardant in furniture, specifically furniture that met California’s Technical Bulletin 117. This inspired Blum to co-found the Green Science Policy Institute (GSP) in 2007 in an effort to educate everyone about balancing safety with chemical responsibility. The goal of the GSP is to bring more scientific research into the area of policymaking, especially policy that directly impacts human health. While the flame retardants used in furniture that adheres to certain fire standards are beneficial in that aspect, they can be long-term mutagens, such as Tris.
Blum cited Tris and PentaBDE, another common flame retardant, as two compounds that have been on her watch list. The GSP has been trying to educate people about the impact the use of these chemicals has caused. She notes that the chemicals have been introduced into the wildlife and new diseases are now being found in animals
To bring things closer to home, Blum discussed her cat, which passed away from hyperthyroidism, a disease that researchers believe may be caused by flame retardants. Her veterinarian had been told in school that he would never see the disease, and now Blum’s cat had one of the most severe cases ever seen.
It would seem surprising that these compounds are still being used. However, there are three chemical companies that manufacture the primary compounds in flame-retardants. They spend a great deal of time and money advocating for their product. Although this may sound abysmal, Blum emphasized that it only takes a few scientists to educate others noting her visits to government offices as a scientist acting on behalf of public interest and not a chemical company.
Blum also shared the latest success story with the audience. As noted earlier, California’s TB117 has been largely to blame for the use of halogenated flame-retardants. As of Feb. 11, California has drafted a new consumer safety policy regarding flame retardants. Rather than focus on the foam inside the furniture, like TB117 did, this new policy focuses on the fabric coating the furniture and emphasizes not using chemical flame retardants. This is a major victory for Blum and the GSP. Her next goal is to follow this legislation into practice and take the same approach to stain repellants and similar compounds.
Following the lecture, Blum visited the Chemistry Department on Friday morning where she spoke with past members of Professor Timothy Elgren’s Chemistry 125 class. The class focuses on chemical toxicology and a large portion of the class is devoted to a lab project involving the detection and management of common compounds in our environment. Past projects have included arsenic in playground equipment, bisphenol-A in beer and bisphenol-A in toothpaste. Blum encouraged the students to pursue their interests and emphasized how a little bit of good science can actually change policy.
This was the case with the playground equipment. Several of the playgrounds were found to contain certain levels of copper, chromium and arsenic. The playgrounds were removed shortly after the lab report was completed.
“She inspires me as a scientist to further my understanding of how the current research I’m participating in connects with larger ideas of human and environmental toxicology,” said Rachel Sobel ’15.
Blum is looking toward the future and trying to find ways to educate society and start constructive dialogue regarding chemicals and their safety at both the public and governmental levels.
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