Laura Spark

  Longtime University of Washington goalies coach Amy Griffin is not an activist by nature. But 15 years ago, she identified what she believed was a trend that she couldn’t ignore in good conscience — young goalies being diagnosed with blood cancer. It started when she ran into two of her former goalkeepers at University Village, an outdoor mall in northeast Seattle. The two young women had grown up playing soccer in the same Seattle neighborhoods, on the same fields.…

Feb 19, 2024–The Guardian reported on new research from the University of Southern California, showing a link between elevated PFAS levels in blood and consumption of certain foods, including butter, processed meats, tea, and bottled water. The USC study analyzed the diets of 700 individuals over a 4-year period. Researchers found that some foods increased PFAS levels when consumed in restaurants but not when prepared at home, suggesting that food packaging was a route of exposure. Pork was associated with…

Feb 24, 2024 According to reporting in The Guardian, the Environmental Protection Agency has tested one third of United States drinking water systems for PFAS, finding PFAS in water systems that serve 70 million Americans. If contamination rates in this sample of water systems are consistent with rates in water that has not yet been tested, 200 million Americans are likely to have PFAS in their water. This represents 60 of the United States population. The EPA test results are…