Who is PFAS Affecting and What Are We Doing About It?

Nationwide, the silent scourge of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as "forever chemicals," is facing down communities. Employed in firefighting foam, cookware like non-stick pots and pans, and much more for decades, PFAS polluted water sources, the ground, and even the blood of some tens of millions of Americans.

At Harvard's School of Public Health, a 2023 study showed that Black and Latino communities are more likely to have water contaminated with PFAS. These groups are more likely to live near sources of PFAS such as military bases, airports, landfills, and factories, where the chemicals enter the nearby watersheds.

The Harvard study contrasted over 44,000 samples from nearly 8,000 community water systems across 18 states, using data collected between 2016 and 2022. It statistically linked PFAS contamination levels in drinking water to the number of local pollution sources surrounding them.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made steps to reduce PFAS. They set the first national standard for 6 PFAS chemicals. They were finalized in 2023 and could help more than 25% from being exposed to dangerous levels of PFAS. The EPA further included PFOA and PFOS as hazardous materials early in 2024 under the Superfund law.