Tell the White House and Congress to Take Action on PFAS

 

PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) -- also known as “Forever Chemicals” because they do not degrade in the environment -- are a class of over 12,000 man-made, fluorinated chemicals that have contaminated water, soil, and air across the world.

PFAS chemicals are used in consumer products for their ability to repel water, grease, and stains. They’re found in nonstick cookware (Teflon and PTFE-based coatings), food packaging such as popcorn bags, pizza boxes, burger wrappers, french fry containers, and “compostable” bowls, cosmetics and personal care products, dental floss, stain-resistant/water-repellent/wrinkle-free clothing, and many more products.

PFAS chemicals have become so ubiquitous that they are now found in lakes, rivers and groundwater reserves throughout the U.S. and move easily in the environment through air and water. Researchers with the National Atmospheric Deposition Program have even found PFAS falling down in rain.

It is estimated that 99% of Americans have these substances coursing through their blood. Unborn babies are exposed through umbilical cord blood from their mothers and newborns can be exposed through breast milk or formula made with contaminated drinking water.

PFAS are harmful at ultra-low levels – in the parts per trillion. They accumulate in the body and are linked to cancers, especially in the kidneys and testicles, thyroid disease, weakened immunity, high blood pressure and other chronic health problems. They are linked to harmful developmental effects in infants and infertility in both women and men. One study found men exposed to PFAS have shorter penises.

DuPont, 3M and other corporations that make PFAS chemicals have known they are poisoning people and contaminating the Earth since the 1950s. Because the chemical industry has spent great sums of money lobbying politicians, meaningful regulations have been blocked for decades. While chemical corporations make billions in profits year after year, Americans are left to not only pay for the cleanup of these toxins with their tax dollars, but also with their health.

The EPA has finally taken action on PFAS in drinking water in 2023. But the proposed regulation covers only 6 of the over 12,000 PFAS chemicals.

There can be no clean air, clean water, or clean food while PFAS chemicals are allowed to be used unabated. Demand that the White House and Congress do more.

The entire class of PFAS chemicals must be dealt with. Not just a paltry 6.

We must demand that the White House and Congress direct the EPA to:

• Designate the entire class of PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances under CERCLA
• Issue a rule adding PFAS to the list of hazardous air pollutants and revise the list of air pollution sources to include categories and subcategories of major sources and area sources of PFAS
• Establish pretreatment standards for PFAS introduced into publicly owned treatment works
• Prohibit disposal of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by incineration
• Identify additional wastes containing PFAS for which a prohibition on incineration may be necessary and prescribe such prohibitions
• Designate PFAS-containing waste as hazardous waste for criminal penalty purposes
• Ban PFAS in food contact substances intended for use as a component of materials in manufacturing, packing, packaging, transporting, or holding food
• Ban PFAS in cookware
• Ban PFAS-contaminated biosolids as fertilizer and compost
• Ban PFAS in cosmetics and personal care products
• Ban PFAS in clothing and textiles
• Ban PFAS in plastic containers
• Ban PFAS in firefighting foam
• Ban PFAS in artificial turf
• Ban PFAS in car washes
• Implement grant programs to assist with PFAS contamination, water infrastructure, and PFAS pretreatment standards
• Provide grants to owners of household water wells contaminated by PFAS to purchase and install a household filtration system
• Require PFAS manufacturers and polluters to pay for all costs of national remediation and cleanup