I grew up in the Canadian prairies where I learned to love open spaces, wild places, big skies, long summer nights, cozy cold winters, and the comfort of good friends. I came to the US as a post-doctoral student of toxicology and environmental health. After about a dozen successful years as a bench scientist conducting basic medical research, I wanted to transition into policy work. I joined NRDC in 2001 to work towards strengthening the regulation of toxic chemicals. When not in the office I like to hike, bike, white water kayak, and walk my dog.
Posted June 18, 2013 by Jennifer Sass in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, U.S. Law and Policy
Pollution isn’t just what you can see littered in the ditches by the side of the road. It’s also the hazardous chemicals you can’t see in the air we breathe, the water we drink and wash in, the food we...continued→
Posted June 11, 2013 by Jennifer Sass in Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
Although there have been numerous published reports and reviews of the hazards of nanosilver and other nanomaterials, the results of this project, using GreenScreen™ established methods, are to our knowledge the most comprehensive systematic hazard screen of nanomaterials to date....continued→
Posted June 5, 2013 by Jennifer Sass in Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment
For this blog, I’m highlighting two expert colleagues with presentations on the applications and implications of synthetic biology. The following comes from their presentations: Synthetic biology, or “extreme genetic engineering”, is being marketed as the next industrial revolution to sustainably...continued→
Posted May 22, 2013 by Jennifer Sass in Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
Earlier this month the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made it a bit harder for the chemical industry to put its consultants and representatives on “independent” scientific panels that review draft IRIS chemical assessments, by issuing a new process for reviewing...continued→
Posted May 10, 2013 by Jennifer Sass in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) IRIS program issued its draft Toxicological review of methanol for public comment and external peer review. The document provides an assessment of the noncancerous health effects of chronic methanol exposure, and updates the health-based limit...continued→
Posted May 2, 2013 by Jennifer Sass in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
The scientific evidence against the neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics) is stacking up like so many dead and dying bees. And, not just bees - turns out that our little aquatic invertebrate buddies are also harmed, other beneficial insects are harmed, and...continued→
Posted March 27, 2013 by Jennifer Sass in Health and the Environment
The public may think pesticides are only allowed onto store shelves and for use in agriculture if they have been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a transparent and scientifically rigorous process. Our investigations, however, reveal a...continued→
Posted March 20, 2013 by Jennifer Sass in Health and the Environment
I presented public comments at a recent National Academies meeting, where committees will review government assessments of the cancer risks of two common industrial chemicals - styrene and formaldehyde. Both were assessed by the prestigious National Toxicology Program (NTP) through...continued→
Posted February 13, 2013 by Jennifer Sass in Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably
I love you. On Valentine’s Day that declaration traditionally comes with a dozen red roses (my dad sends me a dozen roses on International Women’s Day, but I digress…). I love coming home to my bouquet of roses, deep red,...continued→
Posted January 16, 2013 by Jennifer Sass in Living Sustainably
EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority, came out with a report today concluding that the neonicotinoid pesticides, or "neonics", pose an unacceptably high risk to bees, whose pollination services are critical to agriculture. Neonics are a relatively new class of...continued→
Posted December 7, 2012 by Jennifer Sass
Two letters, one signed by 8 national environmental organizations, and the other from 13 prominent scientists, were sent to Congress today to oppose a House Science Committee bill drafted by several Republicans that would strip the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)...continued→
Posted November 30, 2012 by Jennifer Sass in Health and the Environment
A smart editorial in Nature this week (Nov 29, 2012), one of the top scientific journals in the world, criticizes the U.S. National Breast Cancer Coalition for setting an unrealistic and unscientific public promise to beat breast cancer by 2020....continued→
Posted September 5, 2012 by Jennifer Sass in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
Over 70 health scientists from around the country signed a letter to Congress asking them to reject attempts by the chemical industry to defund and delay the Report on Carcinogens (ROC), a scientific list of chemicals and substances that pose...continued→
Posted July 18, 2012 by Jennifer Sass in Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote next week on the “Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act" (H.R. 4078) – a bill that, among other things, imposes a moratorium on issuing virtually any new regulations as...continued→
Posted July 18, 2012 by Jennifer Sass in Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
A coalition of toxic chemical users and manufacturers launched their new "American High-Performance Buildings Coalition" to challenge the internationally renowned and respected voluntary LEED green building rating system that credits buildings with high energy efficiency and environmental sustainability design. What...continued→
Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.
