Shadows around dark waters

The project involves a popular science book and the organization of interdisciplinary seminars focusing on key issues in environmental medicine and society. The main emphasis is on persistent fluorinated environmental pollutants (PFAS).

Primary target audiences, in addition to the general public, include stakeholders such as law, chemical engineering, history, and regulatory toxicology.The narrative has two main storylines:First, the historical connection from Nazi Germany and the U.S. atomic bomb to today´s global chemical industry and geopolitics.

Companies were aware of the risks but used strategies to conceal them.

The project investigates how science is employed to influence regulations.Second, the health of those affected, the challenges in "proving" harm, and risk communication. It examines issues of responsibility, including why it took society so long to take action.

Researchers and their ties to the chemical industry are part of the narrative.The book forms a new genre - green crime - where the vulnerability of environmental science and the impact of the chemical industry on people´s health and trust are central themes.

The ongoing Swedish legal case regarding contaminated drinking water in Ronneby provides dramatic opportunities to assess the collaboration between industry, authorities, and research.

To engage stakeholders in the discussion, we will organize interdisciplinary seminars for target groups in related societal fields.