Associate Professor Katherine Kenny is examining how widespread chemical contamination is reshaping our understanding of risk and responsibility for individual, collective and planetary health.
From the water we drink to the products we use every day, exposure to synthetic chemicals has become an unavoidable part of modern life.
For Associate Professor Katherine Kenny from the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, along with colleagues Associate Professor Nadine Ehlers and Associate Professor Sophie Lewis, understanding the social dimensions of inescapable exposure is at the heart of their research into what they call 'toxic living'.
Associate Professor Kenny, co-director of the Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies, is undertaking research centred on a group of chemicals commonly known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they do not break down in the environment or the human body.
Associate Professor Katherine Kenny, Associate Professor Nadine Ehlers and Associate Professor Sophie Lewis work together on the project.
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LinkThey’re unavoidable. No matter where we live or how many lifestyle modifications we make, these contaminants are in the water we drink, the air we breathe and many of the consumer products we buy.
Co-Director, Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies
“While environmental pollution is not new, we’ve reached a point in history where the pervasiveness and scale of chemical contamination mean that we are all exposed,” Associate Professor Kenny said.
PFAS chemicals have been detected everywhere from polar ice caps and deep ocean trenches to groundwater, rainwater, breastmilk and fetal cord blood.
“They’re unavoidable. No matter where we live or how many lifestyle modifications we make, these contaminants are in the water we drink, the air we breathe and many of the consumer products we buy.”
As awareness of PFAS contamination grows in Australia, Associate Professor Kenny, who is also a member of both the Charles Perkins Centre and Sydney Nano, has observed that many people are shocked by both the scale of contamination and the limited regulation surrounding chemical safety.
“There’s still a sense that if a substance is truly harmful, governments would already have put protections in place,” she said.
“But the scale of chemical production and the rate of innovation have outstripped regulatory capacity for decades.”
While public discussions often focus on how individuals can reduce their exposure, Associate Professor Kenny argues this framing misses the bigger picture.
Her collaborative research examines health as something shaped not only by biology, but also by the social, political and economic conditions people live within.
“Characterising exposure as a question of lifestyle choices creates a situation where the wealthiest are most able to buy their way to partial solutions, whether that’s water filtration, air filtration or avoiding certain products,” she said.
“It also obscures the fact that chemical exposure is a whole-of-society problem that requires whole-of-society solutions.”
That shift in perspective is particularly important when considering both the harms of toxic exposures and potential solutions.
“When people become sick, they can end up blaming themselves and feeling as though they have somehow failed,” she said.
“I think it’s important to recognise that so much of what shapes our health is societal, not individual. Attempts to improve health must move beyond individual lifestyle advice, too.”
I think it’s important to recognise that so much of what shapes our health is societal, not individual. Attempts to improve health must move beyond individual lifestyle advice, too.
Co-Director, Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies
While high-profile contamination events frequently make headlines, Associate Professor Kenny believes important stories remain untold.
“We hear about major instances of exposure and neglect,” she said. “But there are also stories about everyday, business-as-usual exposures that can still lead to harm and deserve attention.”
By centring the experiences of people attempting to live well amidst pervasive exposures, her research seeks to broaden public understanding and debate about environmental health risks and the systems that produce them.
The work also challenges assumptions about who bears responsibility for environmental harms and how communities can be supported when exposure becomes a shared concern.
Addressing these challenges will require collaboration across sectors.
“Tackling a problem as wide-ranging and complex as this requires cross-cutting collaboration,” Associate Professor Kenny said.
“Community groups, citizen science associations, health organisations, scientists, politicians, environmental organisations and social scientists all have a role to play.”
Through this work, Associate Professors Kenny, Ehlers and Lewis are helping to build a more complete understanding of how environmental contamination affects communities while identifying pathways for collective action and meaningful change.
Associate Professor Kenny is interested in working with industry, government, health organisations, environmental groups and community partners seeking to better understand the impacts of PFAS and other emerging contaminants.
Collaborative research can help build evidence for more effective responses to environmental exposure, support affected communities and inform future policy and regulatory approaches.
Organisations interested in partnering with the University of Sydney on research into environmental contamination, public health and social impacts are encouraged to get in touch to explore collaboration opportunities.
Learn more about partnership opportunities here.
