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The chemistry hiding in the living room

An environmental chemist brings the question of persistent chemicals out of the lab and into ordinary products.

An environmental chemist brings research on persistent chemicals into everyday life.
ClimateAn environmental chemist brings research on persistent chemicals into everyday life.Photo: University of Toronto / official source image

A U of T environmental chemist is studying the persistent chemicals that move through everyday products and into ordinary rooms. The work makes an abstract environmental problem tangible.

Research materials help make an invisible chemical problem visible.
ClimateResearch materials help make an invisible chemical problem visible.Photo: University of Toronto

The summer lesson is a good one for any crowded home or campus: notice what a product is made to do, what happens after use and which questions still have no easy label.

Sources 1
  1. Original reporting · utoronto.ca
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This story is from the August 2026 issue of Alumni Digest · U of T. It's free, monthly and independent.

Alumni Digest is independent and is not an official University of Toronto publication. Stories summarize the public reporting linked under each piece; photographs belong to the credited sources and remain under rights review.