The PFAS Pollution Problem

By: Isabelle Munsell

Chemicals have been incorporated into daily life as they serve many advantageous uses. Over time, and with rapid technological advances, it is difficult to identify items in our day-to-day lives that do not utilize or benefit from the addition of chemicals. Despite their advantages, these chemicals can pose serious hazardous risks that consumers are unaware of. 

For instance, Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of human-made chemicals known to cause serious health issues including cancer, hormone disruption, liver and kidney damage, developmental and reproductive harm, and damage to the immune system. Yet, most of the United States population is unaware of PFAS and its associated risks. Often, PFAS are referred to as “forever chemicals” stemming from the chemicals’ structural makeup which consists of one of the strongest bonds possible. Hence, their removal or deconstruction proves difficult. 

In the 1930s, scientists invented PFAS for their stability and resistance to heat, oil, water, and time. Many industries found these chemicals attractive including the aerospace, construction, firefighting, and electric industries. Firefighters and military personnel benefited substantially from PFAS as they made fire-resistant clothing and extinguishers possible. The use of PFAS in these industries contributed to the rapid and widespread use of PFAS which resulted in the contamination of our water supplies. 

Although it has been known that PFAS are toxic, persistent, and bioaccumulative (concentration of PFAS increases over time as it moves through the food chain), the benefits have been deemed tolerable. As a result, the use of PFAS has amplified, and its pollution has infiltrated our lives and bodies. Today, PFAS contaminate most of the items we interact with daily as they are found in drinking water, kitchen and cosmetic products, clothing and shoes, and outdoor gear. Given that we are ingesting and absorbing these chemicals daily, it is particularly troublesome knowing that we are subject to those associated risks as well.

Between the 1950s and early 2000s, the proliferation of the use of PFAS ran rampant partly because there was a lack of environmental documentation and samples. However, within the last decade or two, the effects of PFAS on the environment became a major area of study–leading environmental and consumer activists, water experts, and health professionals to come together to abolish the use of PFAS in products. In response, in April of 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the first national and legally enforceable drinking water standard. With the goal of reducing the exposure to PFAS by an estimated 100 million people, this standard will prevent deaths and reduce illness. Alongside the new standard, the EPA contributed 1 billion dollars to help states and other territories conduct PFAS testing and treat their water systems. The EPA also officially designated two types of PFAS as hazardous substances under The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). This enforces strict guidelines for those two types of PFAS and assigns legal responsibility to those who release these chemicals. For instance, limiting the amount of PFAS released within a 24-hour period and requiring mandatory reporting, allowing investigations into contamination, and subjecting corporations to clean-up costs. Although these federal actions have widened awareness of PFAS hazards, they have followed individual states’ acts to combat the rising issue.

Many states, including Colorado, have implemented legislative regulations for PFAS. As early as 2020, Colorado instituted a policy regulating 5 types of PFAS, capping the amount of PFAS discharged in water, and requiring monthly testing of water discharged from industrial manufacturing facilities. In addition, in 2022, Colorado implemented Colorado’s PFAS Chemicals Consumer Protection Act which sought to mitigate PFAS pollution by prohibiting the sale of new products containing PFAS in phases. In addition to bans on products, the act creates new product disclosure requirements, allowing consumers better access to transparency.

Colorado’s plan for its PFAS phase-out spans the course of the next few years. Beginning January 1, 2024, Colorado has implemented bans on the sale of food packaging, carpets and rugs, juvenile products, oil and gas products, and fabric treatments with intentionally added PFAS chemicals. For the next phase, beginning January 1, 2025, cosmetic products, apparel, indoor textiles, and upholstery with intentionally added PFAS will be banned. Continuing, on January 1, 2026, new additions will include cookware, dental floss, cleaning products, menstruation products, and ski wax. The following year starting January 1, 2027, there will be bans on outdoor textiles and upholstery. Last, beginning January 1, 2028, the sale of all PFAS-treated clothing, backpacks, and waterproof outdoor apparel will be prohibited.

As much as the EPA and some states have accomplished, it remains unjustifiable for companies to continue making products with these extremely toxic and harmful chemicals for American day-to-day use. Some advocates suggest that much more can be done, especially on the part of the EPA. For instance, the EPA needs to regulate PFAS as a class rather than specific types of PFAS chemicals. Congruently, the EPA must cease the approval of new PFAS chemicals through the pre-manufacture notice (PMN) process, regulate PFAS emissions in the air, regulate all discharges of PFAS in water (even industrial sources), and adopt a moratorium on the incineration of PFAS.