Dr. PAUL D. BLANC, M.D., MSPH, Professor of Medicine and Endowed Chair
in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the University of
California, SAN FRANCISCO; Author, _How Everyday Products Make People
Sick_, _Fake Silk: The Lethal History of Viscose Rayon_; Blogger,
Household Hazards (hosted by _Psychology Today_) In a comprehensive
and disturbing history of viscose rayon, or “fake silk,” Paul
Blanc sheds light on the environmental and public health hazards of
producing this ubiquitous textile. In _Fake Silk: The Lethal History
of Viscose Rayon_, Blanc asks a fundamental question: When a new
technology makes people ill, how high does the body count have to be
before protective steps are taken? This is a dark story of hazardous
manufacturing, poisonous materials, environmental abuses, political
machinations and economics trumping safety concerns. Blanc explores
the century-long history of fake silk, which is used to produce
products such as rayon textiles and tires, cellophane, and everyday
kitchen sponges. He uncovers the grim history of a product that
crippled and even served a death sentence to many industry workers
while at the same time environmentally releasing carbon disulfide, the
critical toxic component of viscose.
Blanc received his bachelor's degree from Goddard College, where he
first became interested in health and the environment. He later
trained at the Harvard School of Public Health (in industrial
hygiene), the Albert Einstein School of Medicine and Cook County
Hospital. He was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at the
University of California, San Francisco and a Fulbright Senior
Research Scholar at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He was a
resident scholar at the Rockefeller Bellagio Center in Bellagio, Italy
and at the American Academy in Rome. More recently, he was a fellow at
the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford
University.
LOCATION: 555 Post St., SAN FRANCISCO
TIME: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 P.M. program
MLF: Health & Medicine
PROGRAM ORGANIZER: Patty James
ALL TICKET SALES ARE FINAL AND NONREFUNDABLE.
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31/08/2017 Last update