Cora Young
Chemist, environmentalist, all-around nerd | Professor & Rogers Chair in Chemistry at York U in Toronto, Canada | www.cjygroup.com | Posts my own | She/her
- Reposted by Cora Young
[This post could not be retrieved] - Reposted by Cora YoungA hugely important and hopeful story out of Minnesota. 3M, which had been the world's largest manufacturer of toxic #PFAS since 1950s, has officially gotten out of the business. www.startribune.com/3m-end-pfas-...
- Reposted by Cora YoungHere's an easy way to select a minimum clean air delivery rate (CADR) when you're shopping for a portable air cleaner (filter). For example, if my room is 15 ft x 12 ft = 180 sq ft, then I'd want a CADR of at least 120 CFM (cubic feet per minute).
- Reposted by Cora YoungWe are thrilled to announce our Outstanding Papers of 2024! Huge congratulations to all the deserving winners! See the below thread for all this year’s winning articles #EnvSciOutstandingPapers 1/7
- Reposted by Cora YoungIt’s simply not possible to overstate how important NCAR is to US and world science. We need to fight this with everything we’ve got.
- Honoured to be selected for this award and gutted that I can't be at #AGU25 in person (COVID strikes again) 😭 Those of you in NOLA, please eat an extra beignet and walk an extra few thousand steps for me!
- 📢 Professor Cora Young @svocora.bsky.social (Associate Editor, 𝘌𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦: 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 & 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴) will be receiving the 𝗔𝘁𝗺𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 at the upcoming 𝗔𝗚𝗨 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. #AGU25
- Reposted by Cora YoungDisturbing new paper shows an association between PFAS (at pretty low levels) and children's brain development www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
- More data centres -> more F-gases -> more climate impact + more TFA #PFAS
- Reposted by Cora YoungI'm excited to share a 𝗡𝗲𝘄 #𝘌𝘚𝘗𝘐 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗱 Special issue! @rsc.org This was guest edited by myself and Ellison Carter, and it showcases research that centers around questions of the built environment, featuring the impacts of interdisciplinary approaches. shorturl.at/pIY0i
- Reposted by Cora YoungCome to Toronto and be my colleague!
- Reposted by Cora YoungWe are looking for an Assistant Professor (tenure track) in the area of Soil Chemistry. Please spread the word! Application deadline is September 30. ethz.ch/en/the-eth-z...
- Reposted by Cora YoungBreaking #TFA news: The Danish Ministry of the Environment is withdrawing the approval of 23 #pesticides because the products contain active ingredients that can form and leach #TFA into groundwater. This is the first country to ban #PFAS pesticides. Press release (Danish): mst.dk/nyheder/2025...
- Reposted by Cora YoungMaking the move from academia to industry might feel daunting, but our webinar covers what you need to know. The session includes practical advice on identifying transferable skills, finding the right role and how to build a compelling application. Register for free: buff.ly/KIMtTmU #ChemSky
- Reposted by Cora YoungUV-C light is a go-to sterilizer for hospitals and labs. 🦠🔬 Why can this dark desert lichen survive a "mind-blowing level of UV-C harshness" - and could it provide clues to life on other planets? 🌱 🪐 Today for @science.org #astrobiology #biology www.science.org/content/arti...
- Reposted by Cora YoungCheck out our statement and if you are a PFAS researcher who agrees, you can sign on here: www.ipcp.ch/news/sign-on...
- There have been arguments to redefine #PFAS that seem to be politically or economically motivated. We (20 scientists with PFAS expertise) argue here that the definition of PFAS should be unambiguous and based on chemical structure. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
- Reposted by Cora YoungForever chemicals: Scientists condemn massive lobbying campaign to alter PFAS definition
- There have been arguments to redefine #PFAS that seem to be politically or economically motivated. We (20 scientists with PFAS expertise) argue here that the definition of PFAS should be unambiguous and based on chemical structure. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
- Regulation is effectively a separate question. If policymakers wish to exempt certain #PFAS from regulation, this can be done without changing the general definition and creating confusion. Both Canada and the EU are already doing this!
- Reposted by Cora YoungNothing says "Canadian Unity" like a Smokey Sunrise as western wildfire smoke covers Toronto and the rest of eastern Canada in early June while our leaders stump for more oil production in an effort to make it year round. That feeling in your eyes is the itch of climate change.
- Reposted by Cora Young🌊 NOAA and NSF budget requests would amount to decimation of earth, ocean and atmospheric science in the US.
- We are looking for a postdoc to join our research group at York University in Toronto, Canada to study the atmospheric chemistry of PFAS #PFAS www.cjygroup.com/opportunities
- Congratulations to Shira (@shirajoudan.bsky.social) for this well-deserved honour! So proud of this rising star 😭⭐
- I'm excited and honoured to be recognized as a C&EN Talented 12! cen.acs.org/environment/... Check out the other fantastic recipients here: cen.acs.org/people/profi... #chemsky
- Reposted by Cora YoungCleaning can be messy. Cleaning indoor spaces can enhance the release of a chemicals with a range of volatility. Most persist for up to five hours in home testing. While not an excuse to not clean the bathroom, research has implications for cleaning professionals. pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
- Reposted by Cora YoungI have an open postdoc position in my environmental chemistry group at UW-Madison (starting summer or fall). Project focuses on applying high-resolution mass spectrometry to complex mixtures, including PFAS and dissolved organic matter. Email me directly if interested. Application deadline: May 15
- Reposted by Cora Young📣 Check out the most popular publications from Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts from 2024 📣 All articles in the collections are now free to read and can be found here 🧪 👉 pubs.rsc.org/en/jour...
- Reposted by Cora YoungClouds darkening over NOAA research. We are slated for elimination in next years budget. Astonishing loss to the nation and the world if it happens.
- BREAKING from @science.org: The Trump admin is seeking to kill nearly all climate research at NOAA, its climate science agency. Its near-final budget proposal would end all NOAA research labs, academic institutes, and regional climate centers. And it wants to fully end the NOAA Research division.
- Reposted by Cora YoungSeriously, it’s hard to overstate the importance of the work these EPA scientists do and how devastating their firing would be to public health. So much of what we know about #PFAS, for example, and many of the methods used to detect these toxic chemicals are thanks to these researchers’ work.
- Reposted by Cora YoungCSL is a NOAA lab that has been foundational in atmospheric chemistry & air quality science. They are now losing young scientists that are among the best/brightest of the next generation. This degrades not just CSL but our ability to track pollution & protect health. csl.noaa.gov
- Reposted by Cora YoungBoulder area friends! Please consider coming to the launch event for my PFAS book, Poisoning the Well, at Boulder Bookstore: Tuesday, April 8th, at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available here: www.eventbrite.com/e/sharon-uda...
- Reposted by Cora Youngwww.torontomu.ca/2slgbtq-in-s... from June 4 to 6, 2025, at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) for Canada's annual 2SLGBTQ+ in STEM conference.
- Reposted by Cora YoungUniversity of Guelph: Experimental Physical or Analytical Chemistry chempostingscanada.blogspot.com/2025/02/university-…
- Reposted by Cora YoungEarly-career atmospheric chemistry colleagues! Click on the link below to learn more about applying to attend the Atmospheric Chemistry Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) and the GRC that follows. www.grc.org/atmospheric-...
- Reposted by Cora YoungHi #chemsky, there will be a memorial for Hind Al-Abadleh Tue. Jan. 28 3-5 p.m. EST hosted by the Wilfrid-Laurier chemistry department. wilfrid-laurier.zoom.us/j/9183551563... Also in person at Keffer Chapel, Martin Luther University College.
- Reposted by Cora YoungLast year York students worked as part of the Study for Winter Air Pollution in Toronto (SWAPiT) led by Environment and Climate Change Canada. With the return of frosty weather, see their reflections and learn about the study here: www.yorku.ca/news/2025/01...
- Reposted by Cora YoungHey #ChemSky, I learned this morning that Hind Al-Abadleh passed away a few days ago after a brief illness. She was such a force of nature, with great research and so much important involvement in the (especially Canadian) chemistry community. She will be greatly missed.
- Beautiful mechanistic study of TFA formation from aryl-CF3 groups from @shirajoudan.bsky.social's group (and their first paper 🎉). This helps us better understand the poorly-constrained environmental source of TFA from degradation of pharmaceuticals and pesticides.
- Excited to share the first paper from the Joudan lab! “Photochemical formation of trifluoroacetic acid: Mechanistic insights into a fluoxetine-related aryl-CF3 compound” in Environmental Science & Technology: doi.org/10.1021/acs.... I'll describe it below (what do we call BlueSky 'tweetorials'?)
- Congratulations to Derek Muir on his appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada! A well-deserved honour to the GOAT of Arctic contaminants research ❄️ www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
- From the Governor General's website: "Derek Muir is a world-leading authority in environmental chemistry, specializing in contaminants...he is renowned for his work in the Arctic, which focuses on pollutants...his research has influenced international policies on chemical management."
- Reposted by Cora YoungReally pleased that our final HOMEChem paper is now available in Env Sci Processes and Impacts. pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
- Reposted by Cora YoungSo sure, feel marginally reassured that black plastic is less risky for this narrowly specific reason than one overhyped paper erroneously suggested. But don’t let one tree obscure the forest here please. chemsky 🧪 bsky.app/profile/jake...
- Reposted by Cora YoungI am excited to announce that I will start as an Assistant Professor at York University in the department of chemistry in February 2025!
- Returned from the #AGU24 screening of For Winter feeling emotional and inspired. The film features Ali Criscitiello's high elevation Mt. Logan ice coring expedition. Thanks to National Geographic for telling this amazing story. www.imdb.com/title/tt3462...
- Ali is such an incredible, kind, and inspiring badass. I am honoured to know and collaborate with her. In presentations, I show this photo of her drilling an ice core on the Mt. Oxford icefield hoping that her innate coolness will transfer slightly to me. Spoiler: it does not.
- Reposted by Cora YoungThis paper is great for a whole bunch of reasons, but my favorite part is definitely Figure 1, the single best smog-chamber photo ever published
- Reposted by Cora YoungWhy are #TFA and other #PFAS planetary boundary threat? In a new #ZeroPM video, Ian Cousins, Hans Peter Arp and Emma Palm are interviewed by Sarah Hale to discuss their analysis on this issue. youtu.be/NyShFTVyu2o #planetaryboundaries
- Reposted by Cora YoungHigh Time Resolution Ambient Observations of Gas-Phase Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylic Acids: Implications for Atmospheric Sources by @svocora.bsky.social @shirajoudan.bsky.social and colleagues, published ASAP in ES&T Letters @acspublications.bsky.social pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
- Reposted by Cora YoungThrilled to see these important measurements published! This project was a fantastic collaboration bringing together complementary expertise. We learned a lot about how to make good CIMS measurements of PFCAs, which is critical to understanding formation and transport of PFAS through the atmosphere!
- Excited to share the first real-time atmospheric measurements of #PFAS! We measured using acetate-CIMS in Toronto and see no evidence for direct emission of PFCAs. Rather, we see most are atmospherically formed. PFCA precursors must be considered and reduced! pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
- Excited to share the first real-time atmospheric measurements of #PFAS! We measured using acetate-CIMS in Toronto and see no evidence for direct emission of PFCAs. Rather, we see most are atmospherically formed. PFCA precursors must be considered and reduced! pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
- Prior to this, most atmospheric #PFAS measurements were made on the scale of days-year, limiting insight into sources. Real-time data allows us to explore time of day, day of week, and seasonal variations, as well as correlations with other pollutants.
- This was such a fun dataset to analyze! Thanks to all-star team Shira Joudan (@shirajoudan.bsky.social), Jeremy Wentzell (@jeremywentzell.bsky.social), Ye Tao, and John Liggio
- Reposted by Cora YoungThere you have it! An official Starter Pack of people working on #PFAS issues curated by @saferstates.bsky.social go.bsky.app/ThQN6Zsat://did:plc:sssclxnttnovhwebotadi2ox/app.bsky.graph.starterpack/3lbg6iawm4s2f
- Reposted by Cora YoungOptimist: The cup is half full Pessimist: The cup is half empty Realist: The cup is half full but it’s contaminated with PFAS
- Great article discussing the concern about #TFA and industry influence on the dialogue. Industry is certainly driving the narrative that TFA is naturally occurring and non-toxic. They push back (sometimes aggressively) if you question either assertion.
- The Belgian French news service #RTBF recently made a long article covering the rapid increase of #TFA in their drinking water, and also potential conflicts of interest and lobbying strategies on the subject of TFA. www.rtbf.be/article/pfas...
- @hanspeterarp.bsky.social is spot-on with his comments about why assuming TFA is non-toxic is problematic, e.g., "The exposure tests on mammals only last 60 or 90 days. But everything on the planet will be exposed to TFA for its entire life."
- Reposted by Cora YoungI did a bluesky thing and made a "list" of atmospheric chemists! Share with your friend and let me know if you want to be added! bsky.app/profile/did:...
- Reposted by Cora YoungI like how this map shows the large land needs of our current food production & consumption patterns “Food we eat” should be “crops we eat directly” (since we also eat cows & drink their milk & eat the livestock that eat feed) Also shows inefficient use of cropland (much goes to feed & biofuels) 🧪
- Reposted by Cora YoungNew paper by Corsi's group at UC Davis on long term clean air delivery rate performance of #CRBox. Held up well after an academic year of operation. pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
- Reposted by Cora YoungAir Pollution in Pakistan’s Largest Province Leaves Hundreds Hospitalized www.nytimes.com/2024/11/07/w...
- Reposted by Cora YoungQuick FYI in case you are not aware: NOAA is the foundational center of weather / climate data and research for not just the United States, but is vital on the global stage, too. The fact that this data is available for free (open source) cannot be minimized in its value and importance. 1/n
- SF6 as the cushion in Nike Air? 🤯 In my line of work, I frequently learn about baffling uses of fluorinated substances. This one ranks among the most absurd. To allow its replacement to be used as a carbon credit is beyond belief. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
- Reposted by Cora YoungFires indoors (cigarettes, gas ranges, candles, fireplaces) are generally bad if they don't vent outdoors. Also, fun side note: small gas cookstove burners on the lowest simmering setting can produce formaldehyde (another harmful gas). Higher settings convert the formaldehyde to CO2 and water.
- Reposted by Cora YoungAlso, Matthew converted the NPF plots from his paper into a Lego sculpture, which just placed 3rd in the Fine Particle Art competition at #AAAR2024!
- Reposted by Cora YoungTake a break from election doomscrolling to check out Matthew Goss's new paper on the #airquality implications of 222 nm germicidal light. We find that most of the chemistry can be explained by ozone - except for new particle formation, which 222 nm light enhances. pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
- Reposted by Cora YoungNeed a last-minute chemistry Halloween costume? Don’t worry, #chemsky , I’ve got you. Cat-ion ➕🐾🐈⬛ Hyperfine ⚛️ Basic b*tch 🎃 Noble Gas 👑💨
- Reposted by Cora YoungIn the 00's, a car company made this commercial that accidentally exposed how much space is wasted by car-centric road design. What’s crazy: The most unrealistic part of this video is how it shows *too many people* — because the average car on the road has just 1.5 people in it.
- Reposted by Cora YoungThis is so insightful and important.
- Reposted by Cora YoungFinal version of my paper on the GHG footprint of LNG exports from the US is now published. Conclusion? LNG has a larger climate impact than any other fossil fuel, including coal. doi.org/10.1002/ese3...
