By: Nicole Cossel
Many ask how Americans entered this lifelong relationship with PFAS.[i] Some may still wonder what PFAS are? PFAS refers to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl man-made substances, including chemicals such as PFOA, PFOS, and GenX.[ii] At least 4,500 substances are considered PFAS.[iii] These substances have been manufactured and used in America since the 1940s.[iv] It is time to end our dependency on this unhealthy relationship.
PFAS became increasingly popular to use across industries because of their resistance to oil, heat, and water.[v] Like many new things, PFAS were too good to be true.[vi] These substances earned the nickname “forever chemicals” because they do not break down easily.”[vii] Studies have found that approximately 98% of Americans have PFAS in their blood.[viii] These levels are higher in areas with PFAS contaminated water supplies.[ix] Some people came to learn about their unhealthy relationship with PFAS through the class action suit against Dupont that was portrayed in the movie Dark Waters.[x] When those Ohio residents brought suit against the Dupont factory that manufactured Teflon near their homes the significant and lingering effects of PFAS started coming to light.[xi]
However, PFAS are not just found in Teflon; they are found in the food we consume – from the soil it is grown in, to the packages it is sold in, and even in the food itself.[xii] Commercial household products such as waxes, polishes, paints, and cleaning products also contain PFAS.[xiii] Workplaces that manufacture goods like chrome plating, electronics, or specialize in oil recovery may also face exposure.[xiv] Sadly, PFAS are also found in drinking water and living organisms that have survived contamination including animals, fish, and humans.[xv] The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has only recently established a non-enforceable “health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion” for PFAS in drinking water.[xvi] However, scientists are conflicted on what constitutes dangerous PFAS exposure levels, and other agencies have determined the minimum risk level should be even lower.[xvii]
Additionally, because PFAS are found in so many sources, is it is difficult to determine exactly how much a person is exposed to.[xviii] Further, it is almost impossible to avoid exposure all together since this country seems married to the idea of using forever chemicals in products and putting financial gain over the potential health risks.[xix]
Some of the known negative health effects of PFAS exposure are higher cholesterol levels, liver damage, cancer, decreased fertility, and increased risk of thyroid disease and asthma.[xx] PFAS exposure also interferes with natural hormones, causes issues with the immune system, and negatively impacts children’s growth, learning, and behavior.[xxi]
Even though PFAS have been affecting Americans for decades, scientific research on the effects have just recently begun, revealing more about the catastrophic effects of PFAS.[xxii] For example, there are several pending class action lawsuits between firefighters and companies that produce the foam the firefighters used to put out fires which contained PFAS and caused serious illnesses.[xxiii] Not only does this affect firefighters, but the foam has found its way into many water supplies and also created property loss.[xxiv] This is happening all over the country, including on military installations, where some levels of PFAS are so high that distributing bottled water has become necessary.[xxv]
Americans depend on the EPA to uphold its mission “to protect human health and the environment.”[xxvi] However, the EPA dropped the ball to slow or stop exposure to PFAS and left Americans vulnerable to irreversible contamination.[xxvii] Now, it is up to Congress to step in.[xxviii] The House of Representatives has recently acknowledged the effects of PFAS in the PFAS Action Act of 2021, which would require the EPA to regulate PFAS substances and designate PFAS as a hazardous material.[xxix]
Although the EPA has announced a treatment plan to address PFAS contamination, the exposure only continues to increase.[xxx] PFAS contamination treatments need to be utilized across the country. Instead of wasting precious time waiting for tests to show there is PFAS in water sources, we should first treat the water then conduct testing to ensure the chemicals .
Additionally, agency leadership delegated to protect Americans and the environment should face repercussions when they neglect their duty and make no effort to prevent avoidable catastrophes like this.[xxxi] The negative repercussions from this failure to act should be used as a warning for the agencies entrusted with our health and natural resources to conduct ample testing and ensure appropriate guidelines are enacted when a chemical this dangerous is approved for use in products utilized in households and professions.[xxxii]
The use of PFAS substances should be phased out and only permitted when there are no safe alternatives.[xxxiii] Although the damage is irreversible, steps can be made to ensure this dangerous contamination does not continue to go unregulated.[xxxiv] Regulating PFAS substances could impact the negative health implications, the high costs of lawsuits, and the attempts made to clean up the devastating consequences that PFAS have caused.[xxxv]
There are safer green alternatives that can and should be used in place of the forever chemicals that are causing irreversible catastrophic effects on the environment and all the living inhabitants of it.[xxxvi] It is time to divorce forever chemicals and designate PFAS as a hazardous substance to ensure that PFAS manufacturers help pay to clean up the toxic mess they created.[xxxvii]
[i] See Basic Info on PFAS, U.S. Envtl. Protection Agency, (last viewed Oct. 18, 2021) [https://perma.cc/664Q-7W6U].
[ii] Id.
[iii] Tim Schauenberg, Teflon and 'forever chemicals:' The hidden toxins in your body, Duetshe Welle (June 11, 2021), https://www.dw.com/en/pfas-forever-toxins-teflon/a-57756695 [https://perma.cc/UV8K-UJF7].
[iv] Basic Info on PFAS, supra note i.
[v] Rebecca Hersher, Scientists Dig Into Hard Questions About The Fluorinated Pollutants Known As PFAS, Health Shots (Apr. 22, 2019, 5:01 AM), https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/04/22/708863848/scientists-dig-into-hard-questions-about-the-fluorinated-pollutants-known-as-pfa [https://perma.cc/HH9J-R7LB].
[vi] See id.
[vii] Id.
[viii] Schauenberg, supra note iii.
[ix] Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Teflon, and Related Chemicals What are Teflon and PFOA? Where are they found?, Am. Cancer Soc’y., https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/teflon-and-perfluorooctanoic-acid-pfoa.html (last updated Mar. 4, 2020) [https://perma.cc/S43H-6ZSK].
[x] In re E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. C-8 Pers. Injury Litig., 337 F. Supp. 3d 728, 731 (S.D. Ohio, 2015); Dark Waters (Focus Features 2019).
[xi] In re E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. C-8 Pers. Injury Litig., supra note x.;Alejandro De La Garza, Dark Waters Tells the True Story of the Lawyer Who Took DuPont to Court and Won. But Rob Bilott’s Fight Is Far From Over, Time (Nov. 25, 2019, 12:03 PM), https://time.com/5737451/dark-waters-true-story-rob-bilott/ [https://perma.cc/L432-S624].
[xii] Basic Info on PFAS, supra note i.
[xiii] Id.
[xiv] Id.
[xv] Id.
[xvi] Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFOA and PFOS Health Advisories, U.S. Envtl. Protection Agencyhttps://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/drinking-water-health-advisories-pfoa-and-pfos (last viewed Oct. 24, 2021) [https://perma.cc/2TJL-LY2Z].
[xvii] Jyllian Kemsley, New PFAS health risk levels cement gap between US federal agencies, chemical & engineeringnews (May 15, 2021), https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/New-PFAS-health-risk-levels/99/i18 [https://perma.cc/77DR-N9SF].
[xviii] Amilia O. De Silva, et al, PFAS Exposure Pathways for Humans and Wildlife: A Synthesis of Current Knowledge and Key Gaps in Understanding, 40 Envtl. Toxicology & Chemistry 631, 631(2020) (describing the different sources where PFAS exist).
[xix]See Kristina Marusic, Why is it taking so long to regulate toxic PFAS chemicals in Pennsylvania’s drinking water?,Envtl. Health News (Apr. 3, 2019), https://www.ehn.org/delay-in-regulating-pennsylvania-pfas-2633596363.html [https://perma.cc/A576-AGZ5].
[xx] Health risks of widely used chemicals may be underestimated, Harv. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/pfas-health-risks-underestimated/ (last viewed Oct. 24, 2021) [https://perma.cc/5ECP-RZMW].; Basic Info on PFAS, supra note i.
[xxi] PFAS Health Effects, Pub. Health Madison & Dane County, https://www.publichealthmdc.com/environmental-health/environmental-hazards/per-and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas/per-and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas (last viewed Oct. 24, 2021) [https://perma.cc/JXD8-2RXN].
[xxii] See Hersher, supra note v.
[xxiii] Michelle Llamas, Johnson Controls to Pay $17.5 M to Settles PFAS and AFFF Firefighting Foam Lawsuits, Consumer Notice, https://www.consumernotice.org/news/johnson-controls-settles-pfas-afff-firefighting-foam-lawsuits/(last updated June 28, 2021) [https://perma.cc/9ELK-P5CH].
[xxiv] Id.
[xxv] Hannah Rappleye, David Douglas, & Anne Thompson, A 'forever chemical' contaminates drinking water near military bases, Nat’l Broadcasting News, https://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/forever-chemical-poisons-drinking-water-near-military-bases-n1101736 (last updated Dec. 16, 2019, 11:51 AM) [https://perma.cc/FU7N-57C8]; Patricia Kime, Dozens More Military Bases Have Suspected 'Forever Chemical' Contamination, Mil. (Apr. 3, 2020), https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/04/03/dozens-more-military-bases-have-suspected-forever-chemical-contamination.html [https://perma.cc/CP8R-YSLQ].
[xxvi] Our Mission and What We Do, U.S. Envtl. Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/our-mission-and-what-we-do (last viewed Oct. 18, 2021) [https://perma.cc/7US9-2EA9].
[xxvii] See Scott Faber, It’s Time To End EPA’s Long History of Failing To Act on ‘Forever Chemicals’, Envtl. Working Group (Jan. 9, 2020), https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/its-time-end-epas-long-history-failing-act-forever-chemicals [https://perma.cc/BE7Z-PWWE].
[xxviii] See Scott M. Press, House Takes Steps to Require EPA Regulation of PFAs, Envtl. L. Monitor (July 29, 2021),https://environmentallawmonitor.com/legislation/house-takes-steps-to-require-epa-regulation-of-pfas/ [https://perma.cc/8TSQ-J3MB].
[xxix] Id.
[xxx] Rappleye, supra note xxv.
[xxxi] Our Mission and What We Do, supra note xxvi.
[xxxii] Faber, supra note xxvii.
[xxxiii] Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Drinking Water, Am. Ass’n for Advancement Sci.,https://www.aaas.org/pfas (last updated June 21, 2021) [https://perma.cc/G9NK-49ZH].
[xxxiv] Dark Waters Film Sheds New Light on Forever Chemicals, PRIMO (Jan. 21, 2020), https://blog.primowater.com/dark-waters-film [https://perma.cc/G6MA-SJWX].
[xxxv] See Pat Rizzuto, Industry Eyeing EPA’s Hustle to Control ‘Forever Chemicals’, Bloomberg L. (Mar. 29, 2021, 6:01 AM), https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/industry-eyeing-epas-hustle-to-control-forever-chemicals [https://perma.cc/L5X2-UDBD].
[xxxvi] See Kerri Jansen, ‘Forever chemicals’ no more? These technologies aim to destroy PFAS in water, Chemical & Engineering News (Mar. 25, 2019), https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/New-PFAS-health-risk-levels/99/i18 [https://perma.cc/77DR-N9SF].
[xxxvii] Jared Hayes & Scott Faber, UPDATED MAP: Suspected and Confirmed PFAS Pollution at U.S. Military Bases, Envtl. Working Group (Apr. 2, 2020), https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/updated-map-suspected-and-confirmed-pfas-pollution-us-military-bases [https://perma.cc/QJP5-7FHW].