The Medicine Cabinet in the River: How Pharmaceuticals Contaminate Our Waterways
Your prescription doesn't end at the pharmacy — it flows into every river downstream
Why Some Chemicals Persist in Environments for Centuries
How molecular architecture and environmental fate create pollutants that outlast the civilizations producing them
Why Some Communities Face Disproportionate Toxic Burdens
How historical decisions, cumulative exposures, and social vulnerability compound to concentrate pollution in communities with the least power to resist it
Understanding Half-Lives: How Long Pollutants Persist
Why some contaminants vanish in days while others create obligations lasting generations
The Hidden Toxicology of Household Dust
Your dust contains a chemical inventory of every product you own—and you're ingesting more than you realize
How Microplastics Enter Food Chains and Human Bodies
Tracing the invisible journey of plastic fragments from consumer products to human bloodstreams
Why Water Treatment Cannot Remove Every Contaminant
Your tap water is safer than ever—and still contains chemicals treatment plants were never designed to remove
Vapor Intrusion: When Underground Contamination Enters Buildings
How volatile chemicals migrate from polluted soil through building foundations into the air occupants breathe
How Toxicologists Establish Safe Exposure Limits
Behind every occupational and environmental exposure limit lies animal studies, safety factors, and uncomfortable tradeoffs between protection and practicality
What Indoor Air Quality Testing Actually Measures
Understanding what's actually in the air you breathe 90% of your life—and what the numbers mean
The Science Behind Soil Contamination Cleanup Standards
How toxicology, exposure modeling, and land use combine to determine what 'clean enough' actually means
Why Endocrine Disruptors Cause Effects at Tiny Doses
Traditional toxicology assumes lower doses mean lower risk—but hormone-disrupting chemicals break this rule in ways that matter
Following PFAS From Factories to Your Blood
How these indestructible molecules travel from manufacturing plants through water, food, and products into 98% of Americans
How Scientists Reconstruct Chemical Exposures From the Past
Tracing chemical exposures through biological archives, environmental models, and epidemiological detective work to connect past pollution with present health effects.
How Your Body Processes and Stores Environmental Toxins
Understanding why some pollutants pass through your body in hours while others accumulate for decades in your tissues
What Happens When Industrial Solvents Reach Groundwater
Dense industrial solvents sink through aquifers and pool underground, creating contamination sources that defy cleanup for generations.
Why Lead Poisoning Remains an Urban Crisis
Decades after banning leaded products, millions still live with contamination embedded in their homes, water, and soil—an invisible inheritance demanding urgent action.
Decoding Air Quality Index Numbers Into Health Decisions
Transform air quality numbers from mysterious warnings into practical health decisions by understanding what's measured, how values are calculated, and when to act.
How Mercury Climbs the Food Chain Into Your Dinner
Trace the invisible journey of mercury from industrial smokestacks through aquatic food webs to understand why your fish choices matter for health.
The Invisible Journey of Pesticides From Farm to Water Supply
Understanding the chemistry and geology that determine whether farm chemicals end up in your drinking water.