Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (UCSF)

03/12/2026

03/09/2026

"When we look more comprehensively, we see that babies are exposed to far more chemicals before birth than we previously realized..."

Babies are exposed to many more 'forever chemicals' before they're born than previously thought, new research suggests, as the potential harms of these substances continue to be investigated.

03/05/2026

You've heard of the pesticides chlorpyrifos and malathion, but have you heard of naled? UCSF Robinson Lab postdoc Lin Li, MD, PhD, explains how naled might affect placental health in our latest blog post. ⬇️

Pregnancy depends on a healthy placenta, but how environmental chemicals affect placental development is still poorly understood. Growing evidence suggests that exposure to common pesticides may increase the risk of pregnancy complications. In our new study examining pregnancy risks from pesticides,...

02/27/2026

Your Friday reminder that there are easy ways to reduce your PFAS exposure, including something you may already be doing: washing your hands before eating.

Environmental scientist Tasha Stoiber reveals some simple ways to limit contact with PFAS.

02/19/2026

A resident of the Golden Triangle of Texas on ethylene oxide exposure: “You live here, you’re gonna get cancer.”

Documents obtained by Hunterbrook show Indorama exposed thousands to carcinogens, violated environmental permits, and concealed toxic leaks from regulators.

02/17/2026

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Amy Padula as PRHE’s new interim director! Discover more about her background and vision for PRHE's future in our newest blog post.

PRHE announced earlier in February that Dr. Amy Padula, a leading PRHE researcher who was named one of 20 Pioneers under 40 in Environmental Health by the Collaborative on Health and the Environment and received a NIEHS Outstanding New Environmental Scientist R01 Award for her work on wildfire smoke...

02/11/2026

Firefighters face elevated cancer risks compared to the general population, yet the health impacts on wildland firefighters remain less understood than those who respond to structural fires. is likely one of the culprits.

As early as 2021, government officials were alerted to the presence of potentially dangerous chemicals known as PFAS in pants used by wildland firefighters, according to emails obtained by ProPublica.

02/09/2026

"Black women already have the highest death rates due to asthma, a condition caused and exacerbated by air pollution. ... Black children are also 8x more likely to die from an asthma attack than White children."

They already face the highest rates of asthma-related mortality in the nation. Dirtier air will make that worse.

02/05/2026

The chemical lobby is trying to weaken America's main chemical safety law. If they succeed, people will be exposed to a lot more toxic chemicals and chronic disease.

Industry-backed lawmakers are pushing changes to safety law that would block lawsuits and weaken protections against toxic exposures.

02/04/2026

“These are chemical weapons that are harmful to the human body and harmful to particularly vulnerable folks, like children,” says Asha Hassan, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota

The chemicals are widely used for crowd control, but their long-term health risks are poorly understood.

02/04/2026

Want to learn how "how industry actors manipulate science, lobby policymakers, and undermine democratic decision-making to maintain profits at the expense of human and environmental health"? Check out CIEL's new report.

https://www.ciel.org/reports/science-denial-toxic-chemical-regulation/

02/04/2026

Firefighters are some of the most highly exposed to chemicals. Now they are also on the frontlines of science to uncover what those toxic chemicals are doing to our health.

PFAS make pans nonstick, clothes waterproof and furniture stain resistant. They're so ubiquitous, they're even inside of us. Now, researchers are looking for more insights in firefighters' blood.