The Center for Water Policy will host a virtual Earth Month event featuring its 2022-23 Water Policy Scholar Dr. Laura Suppes speaking on assessing illness risk from PFAS drinking water exposures in Wisconsin.
April 27, 2023, 12-1 p.m. (Central Time)
Suppes is an associate professor of Public Health and Environmental Studies at UW-Eau Claire. She will be joined by her students Alex Barker and Camille Tilden, who are candidates for the bachelor of science in Environmental Public Health. Melissa Scanlan, director of the Center for Water Policy at UWM’s School of Freshwater Sciences, will provide an introduction.
PFAS are harmful chemicals that are being found in many of Wisconsin’s drinking water supplies. These chemicals can cause problems with our organs, hormones, development, and can even lead to reproductive complications. Dr. Suppes’ study assesses how dangerous it is for people to drink water contaminated with PFAS. Her research centers on people in Eau Claire but provides a risk assessment tool that can be customized for other communities.
