You and I are probably already poisoned by PFAS-contaminated water, along with
99% of other Americans -- adults and kids alike, according to recently-emerging studies.
What's in the water? Something called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), found in all sorts of products from firefighting foam, to stain-resistant carpets and Gore-Tex jackets, to Teflon-coated pans and fast food and bakery wrappers.
These "forever chemicals" linger in the environment, never biodegrading, and eventually build up in animals' and humans' bodies. The chemicals live in both the water we drink and cook with, and also in the animals that many people eat. But the dangerous part isn't just that they last forever. It's that
even very low levels of PFAS have been connected to unnatural rates of cancer, autoimmune diseases, liver and kidney diseases, birth defects, and more.Sign the petition to demand the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) immediately regulate PFAS and undertake efforts to clean up our communities now, before more people are exposed to these toxic chemicals! The U.S. Congress should also pass a law to ban PFAS now!According to new information from the EPA,
upwards of 100 million people in the U.S. -- including children -- are drinking contaminated water, from approximately 120,000 poisoned water sites across the country.
And so far, the situation isn't getting better. Because PFAS are so ubiquitous - in nearly every product under the Sun, including concealers, lip products, eye makeup, and
more - we just keep getting more exposed. So we need the EPA to action, fast!
Luckily, under the Biden-Harris administration, the EPA is
finally taking the situation seriously. While currently there is no maximum contaminant levels set for PFAS chemicals, that could be about to change. Over the next several years, the agency is set to study the effects and widespread use of PFAS more, including gathering data on its levels in our environment.
But we're unlikely to see any regulatory changes for a while - and we honestly just don't have that long to wait.Let's thank the EPA for finally moving to restrict PFAS. Now we must urge it to move faster. The government, including Congress, must protect us from hazardous chemicals by clamping down on PFAS use and cleaning up our waterways! 