They’re called ‘Forever Chemicals’, but the damage they cause could last even longer.

In this episode of Up+Adam, award-winning environmental journalists Sharon Udasin and Rachel Frazin join Adam Montiel to talk about their new book, Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America. With gripping stories, damning internal documents, and emotional accounts from families devastated by PFAS exposure, this interview dives into the disturbing reality of how a class of chemicals, hidden in cookware, cosmetics, even dental floss, ended up in the bodies of 97% of Americans.

Adam and the authors explore the haunting story of Brenda Hampton in Courtland, Alabama, whose community has been ravaged by illness linked to industrial contamination. They connect the dots between corporate cover-ups, government inaction, and local impact, including right here on the Central Coast, where PFAS has tainted private wells near the SLO airport.

This is a story about accountability, injustice, and the everyday people rising up to say: enough.

Listen in. Get informed. Take action.

• Buy the Book – Poisoning the Well

Available from Island Press, your local bookstore, or wherever books are sold.

More from the Authors:

• Sharon Udasin at The Hill
• Rachel Frazin at The Hill
• Environmental Working Group – Tap Water Database

Local Listeners:

• Concerned about PFAS in SLO County? Contact your local water utility or visit EWG.org to see what’s been tested in your area.



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