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U.S. NEWS Tuesday 26 March 2019

Newtown dad who probed violence dies in apparent suicide

By PAT EATON-ROBB and “Jeremy’s mission will be work will continue, be-
MICHAEL MELIA carried on by the many cause, as Jeremy would
Associated Press who love him, including say, we have to.”
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — many who share the heart- A native of Boulder, Colo-
On the day of his 6-year-old ache and trauma that he rado, Richman earned his
daughter’s funeral, as Jer- has suffered since Decem- undergraduate degree
emy Richman and his wife ber 14, 2012,” the founda- and doctorate at the Uni-
gathered with loved ones, tion said in a written state- versity of Arizona.
an idea emerged for a ment. “We are crushed to In addition to his wife, he is
way to channel their grief: pieces, but this important survived by two children.q
a foundation to promote
research into the brain pa- New Jersey orders
thologies that lead to vio-
lence. cleanup of clothing,
Within months of the slay-
ing of their curly-haired first- In this Nov. 14, 2014 file photo, Jeremy Richman, father of Sandy cookware chemicals
grader Avielle in the 2012 Hook Elementary school shooting victim Avielle Richman,
Sandy Hook Elementary addresses the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission in Newtown,
School massacre, the cou- Conn. By WAYNE PARRY
ple launched The Avielle Associated Press Associated Press
Foundation with the goal created the foundation to children and others at the TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey is ordering five com-
of trying to prevent others promote research into how Resiliency Center of New- panies that manufacture chemicals used to stain-proof
from suffering such trag- a propensity for violence town. clothing and produce non-stick cookware to spend what
edies. is manifested. Richman, a “He referred to it as ‘brain could be hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up con-
Richman dedicated him- neuroscientist, eventually health’ because it didn’t tamination from the substances.
self to the cause, becom- left his job as a researcher have the stigma that The state Department of Environmental Protection Mo or-
ing known locally and na- at a pharmaceutical com- came with saying ‘mental dered the manufacturers Monday to provide a detailed
tionally for his advocacy pany to focus full-time on health,’” said Cinque. She account of their use and discharge of so-called PFAS sub-
on mental health issues, the foundation. said Richman also did a lot stances over the years.
up until his death on Mon- “The brain is just anoth- of work with suicide pre- The firms — Solvay, DuPont, Dow DuPont, Chemours and
day. He was found dead in er organ, and you don’t vention. 3M — also must pay to clean up any contamination they
an apparent suicide inside have to be a neuroscien- “He would always say, ‘Ask caused. If they refuse or drag their feet, they could be
a Newtown community tist to recognize that it can the question.’ Because, in charged three times the amount of money the state
event center where he had be healthy, it can be un- general, people don’t like spends to deal with the problem.
an office, according to po- healthy, and that you need to say they are going to The substances are sometimes called “forever chemicals”
lice. He was 49. to feel comfortable advo- commit suicide,” she said. because they do not break down, and tend to accumu-
“Jeremy made huge strides cating for your own brain Connecticut’s governor, late in the air, water, soil and even fish. They can harm
in brain health and suicide health and the brain health two U.S. senators and oth- fetuses and newborns, and have been associated with
prevention,” said Stepha- of your loved ones,” Rich- er local leaders shared kidney and testicular cancer, auto-immune illnesses and
nie Cinque, the director man said in 2016 interview. stunned condolences. decreased response to vaccines, according to the state.
of the Resiliency Center “We feel that the failure to “Jeremy Richman was a They have been used for more than 60 years and have
of Newtown, set up as a do that led in large part loving husband, father and become staples of modern life for consumers who want
place for people to gather to the tragedy at Sandy friend to many,” Newtown to protect their clothing from stains or water, and prevent
and talk after a socially iso- Hook.” First Selectman Dan Rosen- food from sticking to cookware. They have been used in
lated gunman killed 20 chil- Richman developed a na- thal said. “I am proud to brands such as Stainmaster, Scotchgard, Teflon, Gore-
dren and six educators on tional profile as a lecturer say he was my friend. I Tex, and Tyvek, according to the state Department of En-
Dec. 14, 2012. and advocate. He had a don’t want to speculate as vironmental Protection.
“Very sadly, this is a great meeting on mental health to why Jeremy took his life, “In issuing this directive, we are putting these five compa-
example of how compli- with then-President Barack except to say none of us nies on notice that many years of contaminating New Jer-
cated it is. Jeremy’s legacy Obama. In 2015, he re- can fathom the enormity of sey’s precious drinking water and other natural resources
now, too, is creating the ceived an appointment as loss he carried with him af- will not go unchecked,” said Catherine McCabe, New
space for that conversa- a lecturer in psychiatry at ter the death of his beauti- Jersey’s environmental protection commissioner. “On be-
tion,” she said. Yale’s medical school. ful daughter, Avielle.” half of all New Jerseyans, we will hold these companies
Richman and his wife Jen- Richman also provided The foundation said its work accountable and insist that they step up to address the
nifer Hensel, both scientists, “brain health” first aid for would continue. problem they have created.”q