BUSRP Report Highlights Interaction Between Scientists and Activists.

Researchers in the Boston University Superfund Research Program collaborated with colleagues at the University of Iowa on a report published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research that highlights the importance of interaction between scientists and activists.

The paper, “PCBs in Schools—Where Communities and Science Come Together,” uses the example of the 8th International PCB Workshop and its focus on the problem of PCBs in schools. The joint paper also examines the ongoing collaboration between SRPs, and with communities facing ongoing problems from PCBs.

Report co-author Madeleine Scammell, assistant professor of environmental health, leads the BUSRP Community Engagement Core, which was created to:

• increase the awareness and utility of the Superfund research for municipal boards of health and health departments in Massachusetts, residents living near federal and state-designated hazardous waste sites, and residents of designated environmental justice areas; and
• establish a mutual understanding of how research on the reproduction and development effects of Superfund chemicals is related to the needs and interests of those communities.