Digital duo tells ‘Forever Chemicals’ stories
English faculty members Jordynn Jack and Courtney Rivard examine the effects of PFAS exposure on local people’s lives.
Doctoral student Sejal Mahendru, who grew up in New Delhi, India, recalls heavy smog, especially in the winter months, from industrial waste and agricultural crop burning to the north.
It was a tangible problem, something you could see and feel. Today, Mahendru, who is pursuing a doctorate in English and comparative literature with an interest in environmental humanities, is working on a far more invisible problem closer to her Carolina home.
PFAS is the abbreviation for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are found in a variety of consumer products including nonstick cookware, fast-food containers, microwave popcorn bags, water-repellant clothing and firefighting foam. These human-created substances are often called “forever chemicals” and “legacy pollutants” because they are extremely difficult to break down over time and can be present in water, soil, air and food.
“The forever nature of PFAS is really scary. It’s nebulous. It’s everywhere,” Mahendru said.
Peer-reviewed studies have shown that high levels of PFAS exposure may lead to negative health effects, including increased risk for certain cancers, fertility issues and developmental delays, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. UNC-Chapel Hill is a leader in studying how to mitigate the impact of PFAS in North Carolina, with researchers from chemistry to public health working on the issue.
But Mahendru is part of a team of scholars, led by English faculty members Jordynn Jack and Courtney Rivard, who are examining the effects of PFAS exposure on people’s lives via a humanities lens. The team is gathering oral histories from residents in Pittsboro, North Carolina — Chapel Hill’s southern neighbor — where PFAS has been identified in some drinking water.
Creating a story archive
The duo realized the value of joining strengths through their respective English research labs — Jack co-directs the Health and Humanities: An Interdisciplinary Venue for Exploration Lab, also known as the HHIVE Lab, and Rivard directs the Digital Literacy and Communications Lab or DLC Lab.
Their resulting project is Forever Chemicals: A Story Archive in North Carolina, where they will develop a digital platform for sharing stories and valuable resources for people living with PFAS exposure. In the pilot phase of the project, the team has conducted and transcribed five oral histories, with a goal of gathering 15-20 interviews before creating a public-facing website.
The oral histories are being stored in University Libraries’ Carolina Digital Repository and will eventually become part of the Southern Oral History Program. SOHP’s unofficial motto is “You don’t have to be famous for your life to be history.”
What can humanistic research methods bring to this multifaceted problem?
“We’re really interested in hearing how people are making sense of this complicated issue through community-engaged research,” Rivard said. “Humanities also sits with that complexity instead of trying to get away from it or simplify it.”
Jack said that the Forever Chemicals team is also exploring how people are digesting information about PFAS contamination and its impacts on their health.
“We are using our knowledge as scholars who study language and who are comfortable dwelling in the in-between to examine how people are relating to the scientific information they are receiving,” Jack said. “Many of our sources have been tested and are aware of their PFAS blood levels, but they are trying to understand that in the context of their lives.”
Even though environmental issues are global concerns, Mahendru said, this local project also has a special role. “Our environment connects us all. But being immersed in a local community is important to help make sense of that larger narrative.”
