PFAS, which stand for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are chemicals that can't be broken down naturally, whether in the human body or the environment. PFAS, often dubbed forever chemicals, are man-made chemicals used in various products like cosmetics, pans, and waterproof clothing. Due to their incredible resistance to water, oil, and heat, the human body struggles to break them down. This then causes PFAS to accumulate in the human body over time, as there is no way to dispose of them.
They are linked to increasing the likelihood of serious health issues such as cancer, liver damage, hormone disruption, immune system issues, developmental delays in children, and more, despite the clear damages and problems that come with having PFAS exposure to a large degree in public water systems. Predominantly, communities of color or low-income communities don't have the fair environmental policies that protect them from PFAS exposure.
In "Communities of Color Disproportionately Exposed to PFAS Pollution in Drinking Water" (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, May 15, 2023), the authors note that communities of color are disproportionately exposed to PFAS. In Boston, Massachusetts, the researchers documented that Black and Latino communities registered higher levels of PFAS in their drinking water compared to the largely white communities. This was not an isolated case in Boston. The same study looked at 7,873 community water systems in 18 states within the U.S. and concluded that there is a definite pattern: PFAS contamination is more likely to occur in water systems serving communities of color.
Although the EPA created a national law to limit the amount of PFAS in public water systems, the law has not been fully implemented. It allows environmental injustice to continue by making the residents of those communities pay for the cleanup of PFAS in their water systems. The industries that dump PFAS into the water are not held accountable and can continue to dump PFAS chemicals into the water systems of these communities with little consequence.
3M dumped PFAS into the Tennessee River, leading to unsafe water in mostly low-income, majority-Black communities like Fort Payne and Gadsden, Alabama. Similar PFAS contamination has affected communities of color in Elizabeth, NJ, and Fayetteville.