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Arlene Blum

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Arlene Blum

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1945-03-01 （Davenport, Iowa, US）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Orthodox Judaism
Residence History
Berkeley, California, US

Career

Occupations
Mountaineer, Writer, Environmental health scientist
Active Years
1966-
Affiliations
Green Science Policy Institute (Executive Director)
Memberships
Member of the Society of Woman Geographers
Influenced By
Robert Baldwin, Bruce Ames
Influenced
Women mountaineers and expedition leaders, Researchers and advocates in environmental chemicals policy

Education

Reed College
Chemistry
Degree: BA
Period: 1962–1966
Year of Graduation: 1966
Country: United States
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (attended)
Country: United States
Attended; no degree information available
University of California, Berkeley
College of Chemistry / Biophysical Chemistry
Degree: PhD
Period: 1966–1971
Year of Graduation: 1971
Country: United States

Awards

Francis P. Farquhar Mountaineering Award
1982
Organization: Sierra Club
Result: 受賞
Gold Medal
Organization: Society of Woman Geographers
Result: 受賞
Hall of Mountaineering Excellence
2012
Organization: American Alpine Club
Result: 殿堂入り
Purpose Prize
2008
Organization: Encore.org
Result: 受賞
Alameda County Women's Hall of Fame (Science, Engineering and Technology)
2014
Organization: Alameda County
Result: 殿堂入り
Thomas Lamb Eliot Award for Lifetime Achievement
2015
Organization: Reed College
Result: 受賞
California Hall of Fame
2018
Organization: State of California
Result: 殿堂入り
Honorary Doctorate
2022
Organization: University of San Francisco
Result: 授与
Forbes Sustainability Leaders
2024
Organization: Forbes
Result: 選出
Benjamin Ide Wheeler Medal
Organization: Berkeley Community (Wheeler Medal)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Annapurna: A Woman's Place

1980 Non-fiction (mountaineering memoir) 336 pages

A first-hand account of the 1978 all-women expedition to Annapurna I. Covers the planning, ascent, tragedy and triumph, and reflections on female solidarity, leadership, and the relationships among team members and Sherpas.

Women pioneeringMountaineering and adventureLeadershipLoss and recovery
Translations
  • English original

Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life

2006 Memoir / Non-fiction 336 pages

A memoir that recounts Blum's life as a mountaineer, scientist, and advocate for safer chemicals. Reflects on personal decisions, family life, career balance, and the transitions between climbing, laboratory research, and policy work.

Life transitionsIntersection of science and mountaineeringEnvironmental protection
Translations
  • English original

Flame-Retardant Additives as Possible Cancer Hazards

1977 Scientific journal article

A study reporting that the flame retardant (Tris) used in children's sleepwear was mutagenic and potentially carcinogenic; this research contributed to regulatory action and greater scrutiny of such chemicals in consumer products.

Health impacts of chemicalsScience and policy

Bibliography

  • Annapurna: A Woman's Place (1980)
  • Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life (2006)
  • Flame-Retardant Additives as Possible Cancer Hazards (paper, 1977)

Adaptations

  • Mentioned in documentary 'Stink!' regarding chemical regulation

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Memoir-like, narrative styleExpository style that makes scientific issues accessible
Recurring Motifs
Mountains and challengeFemale solidarity and pioneeringBridging science and public policy

Legacy

Arlene Blum is recognized both as a pioneering woman mountaineer and as a scientist-advocate who translated research on chemical hazards into policy and public awareness. She has had broad impact across mountaineering, science, and policy and has received many honors.

Academic Societies

  • Society of Woman Geographers

In Popular Culture

  • Featured in documentaries and major newspaper articles

Quotes

  • With a global and virtual expedition team, we are attempting challenging and important mountains and reaching for the summit of a healthier world to benefit us all.
    Source: Green Science Policy Institute / Purpose Prize profile (2012)
  • The health and environmental problem from such chemicals could be as threatening as climate change, but I believe it is a problem that can be solved relatively easily. It's a matter of informing the public – and political will.
    Source: Interview / Essay (2012)
  • My new adventure in science and policy work is the most challenging and important of my life and I feel lucky to look out at the horizon and see endless rows of mountains to climb.
    Source: Personal interview (2006)
  • In America, foods, drugs and pesticides are regulated, you may say they are not well enough regulated, but you really have to provide information because those are the things that go into our mouths. Other chemicals like flame retardants are not regulated, there are not really health requirements but they go into our bodies the same way.
    Source: Article / Interview (2012)

Trivia

  • Raised from age five by her Orthodox Jewish grandparents and mother.
  • Sold T-shirts with the slogan 'A woman's place is on top' to help fund the 1978 Annapurna expedition.
  • Crossed the Alps carrying her baby daughter in a backpack during travels.
  • Her 1977 research contributed to the ban of the flame retardant Tris from children's sleepwear.