No brownie points for her.
A Nantucket environmental activist faces possible legal action after she gave the local school board a plateful of laxative-laced brownies in a stunt protesting the proposed installation of a new synthetic athletic field.
Meghan Perry offered the not-so-sweet treat to the Nantucket School Committee board members as she approached the podium as the session descended into chaos 30 seconds into the event on Tuesday.
“I brought these for you guys,” Perry said as she handed a tin-foil-covered plate to the unsuspecting school officials, according to livestream footage of the meeting.
“They’re brownies, I know this time of day for me is like totally draining,” she said as
Committee chair Laura Gallagher Byrne praised Perry for the kind gesture before the resident dropped the explosive truth bomb.
“It is my understanding they do have a non-detect level of Ex-Lax in them, but I figured since we’re OK with a non-detect level of PFAS it would probably be OK,” Perry said.
Poly and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are widespread, manmade chemicals that break down very slowly over time, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Byrne has filed a police report against Perry for the stunt and after the tainted brownies were left in front of her for the remaining hour-long meeting, according to the Nantucket Current.
“The School Committee values respectful engagement and an environment where members of the community feel welcome to share their concerns. That process was compromised during last evening’s meeting,” Byrne told the outlet.
“Because this incident occurred in a school setting and during a public meeting, we are reviewing our public comment practices and filing a police report, as advised by town leadership,” she said.
It wasn’t known what charges Perry could face.
Perry, who wore a “clean water is a human right” T-shirt, said the brownies were “safe to eat,” but didn’t share how much of the over-the-counter stimulant laxative was placed in the desserts.
The local activist was allegedly upset with Nantucket Public Schools’ plans to revamp the town’s Vito Capizzo Stadium, which includes the controversial artificial field.
Opponents of the plan – which has been under consideration since 2013 but only approved by voters in May – say poly and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) or so called “forever chemicals” found in the synthetic turf are a threat to public health, according to the Nantucket Current.
“PFAS is a real danger. PFAS leaches out of the turf. Plastic particles—nano-particles, micro-particles—leach out of the turf. The turf is a problem,” Dr. Tim Lepore, the only School Committee member who voted against the proposal said in May, according to the outlet.
“The turf field, to me, is a loser. We have the highest incidence in Massachusetts of breast cancer. We have a number of our firefighters that have had cancers. We have to avoid the PFAS.”
Voters twice approved the $26 million project over the past month once at a town meeting and another at the polls during the May 19 election.
The athletic facility revitalization will include a new turf field surrounded by a synthetic track, lighting, bathrooms, concession stands and a modernized grandstand.
The school district and Nantucket Land Water Council are in final discussions over proper testing protocols for the artificial turf and track, the Nantucket Current reported.
A report from consulting firm Weston & Sampson noted that PFAS are listed under California Prop-65 to be “known to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm.”
The report also found that several states have specifically banned synthetic turf for having PFAS, but Massachusetts is not one of them.
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