Heather Stapleton | |
---|---|
Born | New York, USA |
Academic background | |
Education | BS, 1997, Long Island University MA, 2000, PhD, 2003, University of Maryland, College Park |
Thesis | Assimilation and metabolism of polybrominated diphenyl ethers by the common Carp (2003) |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Nicholas School of the Environment |
Heather M. Stapleton is an American environmental organic chemist and exposure scientist. She is the Ronie-Richele Garcia-Johnson Distinguished Professor at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment. During her tenure at Duke,Stapleton focused her research on identifying and understanding the uses of flame retardant chemicals in consumer products and evaluating the health impacts of exposures to those chemicals.
Stapleton was born to parents Donald and Kathleen Stapleton and grew up in Candor,New York. She graduated from Candor Central High School in 1992 as class valedictorian and member of the varsity volleyball,basketball and softball team. [1] Stapleton originally aspired to be a marine biologist and enrolled in a marine science program in college. [2] She completed her Bachelor of Science degree from Long Island University in 1997 and earned her master's degree and PhD from the University of Maryland,College Park. [3]
As an assistant professor of environmental sciences and policy,Stapleton focused on determining the underlying factors influencing exposure and accumulation of contaminants in aquatic organisms. She specifically examined the consequences of when chemicals used to prevent fires in common household products get into rivers,lakes and other water systems. [2] In 2008,Stapleton was awarded an Outstanding New Environmental Scientist Award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for her research grant proposal entitled "Children’s Exposure to Brominated Flame Retardants:Effects on Thyroid Hormone Regulation." [4] Stapleton culminated her research into her 2011 study Identification of Flame Retardants in Polyurethane Foam Collected from Baby Products which examined levels of flame retardant chemicals in infant and toddler products. [5] [6] It was later selected as the top scientific paper of 2011 by the journal Environmental Science &Technology . [5] Stapleton was also selected as a Science Communication Fellow at Environmental Health Science. [7]
In 2014,Stapleton and colleague Greg Lowry qualified for the 2014 list of Highly Cited Researchers published by Thomson Reuters. [8] Within two years Stapleton was promoted to Dan and Bunny Gabel Associate Professor of Environmental Ethics and Sustainable Environmental Management and associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. She was also recognized again on Thomson Reuter's Highly Cited Researchers for 2015 list. [9]
During her later tenure at Duke,Stapleton focused her research on identifying and understanding the uses of flame retardant chemicals in consumer products and evaluating the health impacts of exposures to those chemicals. [10] In 2017,Stapleton reported that toddlers’urine had 15 times higher flame retardant concentrations than their mothers'. Later,her research team published a study that found that urine concentrations of one type of flame retardant increased along with the number of baby products at home. [11] In 2019,Stapleton received a five-year,$5 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to develop a new environmental analysis laboratory. [12] She was also appointed to the North Carolina Thyroid Cancer Research Advisory Panel. [13]
Upon the laboratories establishment in 2020,Stapleton was named its co-director and appointed the Ronie-Richele Garcia-Johnson Distinguished Professor. [10]
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs,are a class of organobromine compounds that are used as flame retardants. Like other brominated flame retardants,PBDEs have been used in a wide array of products,including building materials,electronics,furnishings,motor vehicles,airplanes,plastics,polyurethane foams,and textiles. They are structurally akin to polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (PCDEs),polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other polyhalogenated compounds,consisting of two halogenated aromatic rings. PBDEs are classified according to the average number of bromine atoms in the molecule. The life-saving benefits of fire retardants led to their popularization. Standards for mass transit vehicles continues to increase as of 2021.
The term flame retardant subsumes a diverse group of chemicals that are added to manufactured materials,such as plastics and textiles,and surface finishes and coatings. Flame retardants are activated by the presence of an ignition source and prevent or slow the further development of flames by a variety of different physical and chemical mechanisms. They may be added as a copolymer during the polymerisation process,or later added to the polymer at a moulding or extrusion process or applied as a topical finish. Mineral flame retardants are typically additive,while organohalogen and organophosphorus compounds can be either reactive or additive.
Endocrine disruptors,sometimes also referred to as hormonally active agents,endocrine disrupting chemicals,or endocrine disrupting compounds are chemicals that can interfere with endocrine systems. These disruptions can cause numerous adverse human health outcomes including,alterations in sperm quality and fertility,abnormalities in sex organs,endometriosis,early puberty,altered nervous system function,immune function,certain cancers,respiratory problems,metabolic issues,diabetes,obesity,cardiovascular problems,growth,neurological and learning disabilities,and more. Found in many household and industrial products,endocrine disruptors "interfere with the synthesis,secretion,transport,binding,action,or elimination of natural hormones in the body that are responsible for development,behavior,fertility,and maintenance of homeostasis ."
In organic chemistry,organophosphates (also known as phosphate esters,phosphorates(V) or OPEs) are a class of organophosphorus compounds with the general structure O=P(OR)3,a central phosphate molecule with alkyl or aromatic substituents. They can be considered as esters of phosphoric acid. Organophosphates are best known for their use as pesticides.
Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are organobromine compounds that have an inhibitory effect on combustion chemistry and tend to reduce the flammability of products containing them. The brominated variety of commercialized chemical flame retardants comprise approximately 19.7% of the market. They are effective in plastics and textile applications like electronics,clothes,and furniture.
Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs),also called brominated biphenyls or polybromobiphenyls,are a group of manufactured chemicals that consist of polyhalogenated derivatives of a biphenyl core. Their chlorine analogs are the PCBs. While once widely used commercially,PBBs are now controlled substances under the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive,which limits their use in electrical and electronic products sold in the EU.
A fire retardant is a substance that is used to slow down or stop the spread of fire or reduce its intensity. This is commonly accomplished by chemical reactions that reduce the flammability of fuels or delay their combustion. Fire retardants may also cool the fuel through physical action or endothermic chemical reactions. Fire retardants are available as powder,to be mixed with water,as fire-fighting foams and fire-retardant gels. Fire retardants are also available as coatings or sprays to be applied to an object.
Arlene Blum is an American mountaineer,writer,and environmental health scientist. She is best known for leading the first successful American ascent of Annapurna (I),a climb that was also an all-woman ascent. She led the first all-woman ascent of Denali,and was the first American woman to attempt Mount Everest. She is Executive Director of the Green Science Policy Institution.
Ammonium sulfamate is a white crystalline solid,readily soluble in water. It is commonly used as a broad spectrum herbicide,with additional uses as a compost accelerator,flame retardant and in industrial processes.
Decabromodiphenyl ether is a brominated flame retardant which belongs to the group of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). It was commercialised in the 1970s and was initially thought to be safe,but is now recognised as a hazardous and persistent pollutant. It was added to Annex A of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2017,which means that treaty members must take measures to eliminate its production and use. The plastics industry started switching to decabromodiphenyl ethane as an alternative in the 1990s,but this is now also coming under regulatory pressure due to concerns over human health.
Pentabromodiphenyl ether is a brominated flame retardant which belongs to the group of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Because of their toxicity and persistence,their industrial production is to be eliminated under the Stockholm Convention,a treaty to control and phase out major persistent organic pollutants (POP).
Octabromodiphenyl ether is a brominated flame retardant which belongs to the group of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).
Triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) is the chemical compound with the formula OP(OC6H5)3. It is the simplest aromatic organophosphate. This colourless solid is the ester (triester) of phosphoric acid and phenol. It is used as a plasticizer and a fire retardant in a wide variety of settings and products.
Tris(1,3-dichloroisopropyl)phosphate (TDCPP) is a chlorinated organophosphate. Organophosphate chemicals have a wide variety of applications and are used as flame retardants,pesticides,plasticizers,and nerve gases. TDCPP is structurally similar to several other organophosphate flame retardants,such as tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) and tris(chloropropyl)phosphate (TCPP). TDCPP and these other chlorinated organophosphate flame retardants are all sometimes referred to as "chlorinated tris".
Susan D. Shaw was an American environmental health scientist,marine toxicologist,explorer,ocean conservationist,and author. A Doctor of Public Health,she was a professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the School of Public Health at the State University of New York at Albany,and Founder/President of the Shaw Institute,a nonprofit scientific institution with a mission to improve human and ecological health through innovative science and strategic partnerships. Shaw is globally recognized for pioneering high-impact environmental research on ocean pollution,climate change,oil spills,and plastics that has fueled public policy over three decades. In 1983,with landscape photographer Ansel Adams,she published Overexposure,the first book to document the health hazards of photographic chemicals. Shaw is credited as the first scientist to show that brominated flame retardant chemicals used in consumer products have contaminated marine mammals and commercially important fish stocks in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. She became the first scientist to dive into the Gulf of Mexico oil slick following the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion to investigate the impacts of chemical dispersants used in response to the spill.
Linda Silber Birnbaum is an American toxicologist,microbiologist and the former director of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences,as well as the National Toxicology Program,positions she held from January 18,2009 until October 3,2019. She also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health and as a member of the editorial board of Environment International.
Silent Spring Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to studying and reporting primarily on breast cancer prevention,although its research covers other health-related topics as well.
Anna Agnieszka Stec is Professor in Fire Chemistry and Toxicology at the University of Central Lancashire. Her interests include the assessment of toxic and irritant hazards in fires,and the factors affecting fire gas toxicity.
The Shaw Institute,formerly the Marine &Environmental Research Institute,is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit scientific research organization based in Blue Hill,Maine and New York City. The institute conducts research into ocean pollution,flame retardants,microplastics and plastic pollution,sentinel species and climate change.
Bis(2-ethylhexyl)tetrabromophthalate (or TBPH),is a brominated phthalate derivative with the formula C24H34Br4O4 commonly used as a brominated flame retardant (BFR).