ABSTRACT

In her video, Dr. Mattingly discusses the field of toxicology and the complex effects of the environment on your health. She discusses DDT, a pesticide used in the mid-1900s that was banned in 1972, and what happens when a chemical is persistent in our environment. She brings this into current events as she discusses PFAS, including Teflon and Gore-Tex, sharing the story of contamination of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. We're doing a lot about PFAS at NC State, and it requires a diverse group of experts with diverse skills and backgrounds.

Carolyn Mattingly, Ph.D., earned a B.A. in art history (Oberlin College) and a Ph.D. in molecular toxicology (Tulane University). She is a Distinguished Professor, a University Faculty and Scholar and serves as head of the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Sciences.

TRANSCRIPT

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

• Check out the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database, "a robust, publicly available database that aims to advance understanding about how environmental exposures affect human health."

• View the Environmental Working Group's website. The EWG is a "community 30 million strong, working to protect our environmental health by changing industry standards." 

• Learn more about PFAS by checking out the Fighting PFAS Contamination In The Lower Cape Fear Region website from Clean Cape Fear or reading the article "PFAS Contamination of Drinking Water Far More Prevalent Than Previously Reported."

• Check out the movie Dark Waters, about a corporate defense attorney who takes on an environmental lawsuit against DuPont, exposing a lengthy history of pollution (Find Dark Waters online at the NC State University Libraries)

• Watch Ghost in Your Genes, an episode of Nova where scientists discover how genes are turned off or on by environmental factors.

• Read Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, one of the landmark books of the twentieth century, that forced the government to ban DDT.