What’s the problem?
PFAS contamination.
How do you organize your community to clean up or prevent PFAS contamination?
Not that long ago, few people had heard of the chemicals known as PFAS (short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). Today, in the wake of widespread PFAS contamination of drinking water supplies, people are scrambling to learn all they can about these “forever chemicals” – and about how to protect their families and communities against them.
Studies have linked exposure to PFAS to cancers, low infant birth weight, disruptions in infant growth and learning, infertility, immune system disorders and hormonal disorders. Yet the chemicals are difficult to avoid since they’re found in everything from the foam used by firefighters to non-stick frying pans. They’re also extremely persistent in the environment – that’s how they earned the nickname “forever chemicals.”
Our government is slowly starting to take this toxic threat seriously, but we’re playing catch-up: PFAS already has tainted the drinking water supplies of an estimated 110 million Americans.
Cleaning up PFAS contamination is going to be a monumental task. It starts with setting health-based standards for how much PFAS we should tolerate in our water, testing to see how much is already in our water, and phasing out existing uses of PFAS so we stop adding to the contamination.
What can your community do if you know or suspect PFAS is threatening the health of your family, friends and neighbors? Here’s what some community groups have done:
- Vermont: Grassroots action helped convince Gov. Phil Scott to sign a bill establishing a drinking water standard for PFAS. This law requires comprehensive testing for PFAS at public water systems and provides the Agency of Natural Resources with additional tools to protect Vermonters from PFAS contamination.
- Rhode Island: Community groups celebrated when Gov. Dan McKee signed legislation making Rhode Island the ninth state to ban the use of PFAS in food packaging. Maine, Vermont and Connecticut have passed similar bills.
To learn more about how you can protect your community against PFAS contamination, fill out our Get Help form. You can also check out these resources:
- PFAS chemicals and community health: An introduction
- Interactive Map of PFAS Contaminated Communities.
- EWG Tap Water Database
- A fact sheet for communities affected by PFAS-contaminated water (last updated 12/2016)
- Health Studies Guide (a guide to help communities determine if a health study is a good strategy for investigating a local environmental problem)
- The 2019 PFAS conference (June 2019, Northeastern University)
- Highly Fluorinated Compounds Conference (June 2017, Northeastern University) at Northeastern University
- PFAS workshop at Vermont Crossroads conference (November 2017)
- Progress on PFAS at airports (November 2023)
- New data shows extent of PFAS contamination (November 2023)
- The Threat of Forever Chemicals report (June 2023)