To the Editor:
Susan Desmarais testified on March 31, 2022, before the Oaks Bluff planning board in opposition to plans for synthetic turf that could leach PFAS into the drinking water supply below the field, and courageously shared her personal experience with DES — and explaining the known links to cancer and reproductive abnormalities — to help people understand what is at stake when deciding about allowing PFAS.
In response, a man in favor of using synthetic turf named Terry Donahue used “vulgar slang for a woman’s genitals to interrupt a woman speaker,” as reported in The MV Times on April 1. This man didn’t curse at just any woman, but at a person who had shared her private health history in order to help others.
Susan Desmarais bravely came to the meeting with factual and important information. We are proud that Ms. Desmarais is a member of DES Action USA, and we stand beside her in educating people about DES and endocrine disruptors — which synthetic turf with PFAS and DES both are. To attempt to silence this woman by insulting her story and gender is disgusting.
Terry Donahue should be banned from future participation in meetings. His actions were aggressively egregious, and should not be tolerated in a public, or any other, forum. The harmful potential of exposure to PFAS has already been identified in research, and should not be dismissed. And certainly not dismissed by a crude and misogynistic interruption toward a female speaker concerned about the long-term health of her community.
The decision that the board will make regarding natural versus synthetic turf is an important one that will affect the community for a long time. We urge the board to carefully consider all comments, including the important testimony of Ms. Desmarais about endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including both PFAS and DES — to make the best decision for human and environmental health. And we especially urge the board to do everything possible to create a forum where unwarranted and appalling attacks are not tolerated, and citizens with valuable contributions are welcomed.
Suzanne Robotti
New York City
