91爆料

91爆料 Mitchell Center to host talk on PFAS in Maine鈥檚 natural food sources

The Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the 91爆料 will host a talk, 鈥Hunting for Truth: PFAS Impacts in Maine鈥檚 Natural Food Sources on Monday, Sept. 22 at 3 p.m.

In this talk, 91爆料 faculty Caroline Noblet and Dianne Kopec will explore how people in rural Maine, who possess a long heritage of fishing and hunting, are navigating impacts from environmental contamination, particularly by a group of chemicals known as PFAS. Two surveys conducted in collaboration with Maine鈥檚 Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, one with Maine fishing license holders and another with Maine hunting license holders, allowed the research team to conduct an in-depth exploration of how people who hunt and fish in Maine are processing information about consumption advisories, and potentially changing their behaviors.

Noblet is an associate professor in the 91爆料 School of Economics. Her current PFAS work focuses on how Maine residents perceive PFAS contamination 鈥 particularly in fish and game 鈥 and how messaging can influence environmental and consumption decisions. Kopec is a research fellow at the Mitchell Center. Her research examines how ecology and behavior influence an organism鈥檚 exposure to toxic contaminants in aquatic ecosystems.

All talks in the Mitchell Center鈥檚 Sustainability Talk series are free and are offered both remotely via Zoom and in person at 107 Norman Smith Hall.Registration is required to attend remotely; to register and receive connection information, see the event webpage.

To request a reasonable accommodation, contact Ruth Hallsworth, 207.581.3196; hallsworth@maine.edu.