Flame retardants, plasticizers, and “forever” chemicals are common in household items like cookware and cosmetics. But these materials that people are exposed to everyday have also been linked to health issues like decreased fertility and increased risk of certain cancers. While environmental health studies have helped explore the relationship between these common chemicals and our health, these studies don’t always report back to participants what they found.
But that doesn’t mean people aren’t curious. That’s what Phil Brown, university distinguished professor of sociology and health sciences and the director of Northeastern University’s Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute, learned over the course of his work: Many people who participated in studies about the harmful chemicals in their body wanted to know what the researchers found.
