Dr. Scott Coffin

Bluesky Map Interactive map of 3 million Bluesky users, visualised by their follower pattern.

This is too fun...
bluesky-map.theo.io

BREAKING: Bernie Sanders is introducing an amendment to cut ICE’s $75 billion funding increase, and to use those funds to restore the federal cuts to health care.

Washington State’s Amended PFAS Rule Restricts New Product Categories and Adds Total Fluorine Threshold The amended rule adds to the growing patchwork of state-level PFAS laws and to compliance burdens. By Julia A. Hatcher, Tom Lee, and Hunter J. Kendrick

🙌Some good news! Washington State just adopted a law that requires companies to ensure products contains <50ppm total fluorine to reduce consumer exposure to #PFAS!

www.globalelr.com/2026/01/wash...

ICE must be abolished. It has become a lawless, rogue agency. Federal law enforcement agencies must follow the law, if they're going to have any credibility enforcing it.

We are demanding justice for Renee Good and the prosecution of ICE agent Jonathan Ross for her murder.

I’m seeing a lot of people predict that “the right wing media is going to turn this story for Trump” and “they’re going to work overtime to make America forget this” and you should tell that to all these people out there in Minnesota in fucking January. This can matter. This will matter.

Join me at The #Microplastics Exposure & Human Health Conference in Santa Fe, NM (January 11 - 14, 2026)!

Encouraging to see this work feeding directly into the global conversation!

#Microplastics #DrinkingWater #ScienceToPolicy #GlobalPlasticsTreaty #California

This paper highlights something that often gets overlooked: subnational policy can move faster than global agreements—and help shape them. California’s experience shows it *is* possible to put real structure around microplastics, even amid uncertainty.

Is it perfect? Absolutely not—and that’s okay. What matters is understanding the uncertainties, biases, and best practices, and improving over time.

We needed something transparent, adaptable, and grounded in the best available evidence. Through collaboration with global experts we developed standardized methods, open data infrastructure (One4All), and a risk-based framework that was **good enough for game time**, even with known limitations.

Abkar & Walker connect California’s approach directly to the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations. When we (State Water Board and OEHHA) started building California’s monitoring framework, we definitely didn’t have all the answers (and still don’t). But waiting for *perfect* science wasn’t an option.

This @universitypress.cambridge.org article by @leiliab.bsky.social and @tonyrwalker1.bsky.social genuinely warmed my heart. It’s a reminder that the work we’ve been doing in #California on #microplastics in drinking water can- and does- travel far beyond our borders!

doi.org/10.1017/plc....

Whitmer joins Democratic governors calling on the EPA to monitor microplastics in drinking water • Michigan Advance Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last week joined governors from six other states signing onto a petition demanding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency add microplastics to its program collecting d...

Six US state governors have signed a petition demanding the USEPA to monitor #microplastics in #drinkingWater.

michiganadvance.com/2025/12/02/w...

Join #DTSC's Safer Consumer Products team for a virtual workshop on #microplastics in consumer products Thursday, Dec. 11!

Get an overview of our preliminary research/findings + share insights w/ us on Zoom:

⌚ 9:30 – noon (PST)

🔗 Learn more & RSVP: dtsc.ca.gov/event/microp...

a couple of birds in a cage with one sitting on top of a coconut ALT: a couple of birds in a cage with one sitting on top of a coconut

Just learned a #nonviolent replacement for the phrase, "Kill two birds with one stone" that I am totally in love with.
"Feed two birds with one scone"

Disappointing to see that scientists are still conflating gender and sex in the literature. The reviewers or editors really should have caught this glaring error in the title of this 2016 paper!

Thank you to authors:
@magdalenammair.bsky.social @analeticiav.bsky.social, Stephanie Kennedy, Anna Kukkola, Ezra Miller, Andrew Yeh, Towsif Ahmed, Lidwina Bertrand, Andrew Barrick, Win Cowger, and Darragh Doyle

Huge thanks to all collaborators who made this possible. This project was truly a labor of love - no funding, 100% volunteer-run, with authors from all over the world!
More to come soon! 🌎✨

The Toxicity of Microplastics Explorer (ToMEx) 2.0 - Microplastics and Nanoplastics In 2021 the Toxicity of Microplastics Explorer (ToMEx, https://microplastics.sccwrp.org ) was released as an open source, open access database and web application for microplastics toxicity. Since the...

Some good news-

By harmonizing data across particle types, exposure conditions, species, and effect endpoints, we created the most comprehensive quality-assured dataset to date for microplastic ecological risk assessment (i.e., ToMEx 2.0)!
microplastics.springeropen.com/articles/10....

This means we can't judge a book by it's cover (or it's age)! High-quality microplastic effects data remain relatively rare, and just because a paper is newer or is published in a 'good' journal doesn't mean it's reliable!

We also found that while 'better' journals (i.e., ⬆️impact factor & Altmetric score) correlate with higher quality studies, there are MANY exceptions, with some of the best studies in mid-impact journals like ES&T and STOTEN.

• Widespread issues with particle characterization, dose reporting, and experimental design.

• Many studies lack the information needed to determine whether observed effects are real, reproducible, or relevant for risk assessment.

What we found: despite explosive growth in the literature, only a small fraction of studies meet minimum standards for use in health-protective risk assessment.

We found:
• A significant negative trend in study quality over time, despite more papers being published each year :/

New paper out! 🎉
Our team published “A Quality-Assured Global Database and Multidimensional Analysis of #Microplastic #Toxicity Studies” in STOTEN.
We evaluated 286 microplastic ecotoxicity studies using quality criteria developed to support #California’s regulatory needs under SB 1263.

Looking to apply high-throughput and automated #microplastics analysis techniques in your laboratory for sediment, water, or air? Attend this 5-day intensive by the Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research!

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Biofiltration BMPs found to remove microplastic particles - Southern California Coastal Water Research Project A two-year study examining whether biofiltration BMPs (best management practices) can efficiently remove microplastics from Southern California runoff has found that these stormwater control measures ...

A two-year study by SCCWRP reveals that biofiltration #stormwater BMPs remove ~72% of #microplastic particles from runoff. Engineered media in biofilters - used to trap sediment, nutrients, metals - also work well for microplastics - a multi-benefit intervention!
www.sccwrp.org/biofiltratio...

This collaborative project was borne out of the 2019 #PFASDatathon I led with colleagues at the
California State Water Board and CDPH.
Kudos to Toki Fillman and Kathleen Attfield for spearheading this groundbreaking work, and the many others who contributed!
waterboards.ca.gov/pfas/pfas_da...

Among 563 adults, those served by water systems with PFAS detections had up to 80% higher serum PFHxS and elevated PFOA, PFOS, and ∑5 PFAS.
These links persisted even in communities without industrial PFAS sources.
#PFAS #DrinkingWater #PublicHealth

Just published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology (@springernature.com)!

Our multi-agency team examined links between #PFAS in public drinking water and levels in people’s blood across #SouthernCalifornia.

#openAccess link ->
doi.org/10.1038/s413...

How mRNA Vaccines Can Help Fight Cancer Turning "cold" tumors "hot"

How do mRNA vaccines help fight cancer?
A @nature.com paper today tells the story, one with big implications, as reviewed here
erictopol.substack.com/p/how-mrna-v...