Massachusetts
Safe Water, Food, and Air is a Fundamental Human Right
Families across the country and in Massachusetts are being harmed by PFAS and other toxic chemicals.
Solutions that require using safer materials, banning toxic chemicals, cleaning up existing pollution, and holding polluters accountable are already being implemented in certain states.
Voters want strong leaders who will end this public health crisis and usher in a new era of healthy communities.
Families and Firefighters Across Massachusetts Are Bearing the Burden of Pollution
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (or PFAS ) are a class of chemicals used since the 1940s to make products non-stick, stain-resistant, and waterproof. These chemicals have gotten into the Massachusetts environment, contaminating water, soil, and wildlife.
This is a problem because PFAS are persistent, bio-accumulative chemicals that are toxic at very low levels. They are linked to increased risks of certain cancers and to a wide array of other health impacts including immunosuppression.
Thirteen states have already banned PFAS in one or more products. Maine has created a comprehensive framework for getting PFAS out of all products and for preventing contamination through PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge. Europe is phasing out PFAS.
Massachusetts has allocated funds for clean-up but has not yet taken action to limit the use of PFAS.
In the spring of 2022, Westminster homeowners learned that PFAS levels in their wells are more than 50 times the state’s legal limit, a result of contamination from a commercial composting site.
In Westfield, residents who lived around the former Air National Guard base have PFAS levels in their blood that are 3.4 times the national average. PFAS-containing firefighting foams used on and around the base sunk into the ground and contaminated drinking water wells.
On Nantucket, firefighter Nate Barber has testicular cancer, a cancer known to be caused by PFAS. Yet, every day, he must put on firefighting gear that contains PFAS chemicals. Nantucket firefighters have launched state and national efforts to ban PFAS in personal protective equipment, but until they prevail, Barber and other firefighters must continue to wear uniforms that can harm their health.
PFAS pollution is a public health crisis and is receiving almost daily attention from state and national news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, Boston Globe, WBUR, WWLP, WGBH, NBC Boston, Boston Herald, The Hill, ABC News, Fox News, and the Washington Post.
What Are PFAS?
Sierra Club’s PFAS in Mass. Water shows the 261 cities and towns which contain one or more public water systems that the state has tested for the six, regulated, long-chain PFAS chemicals.
Key:
Green = 0 ppt of PFAS6 reported
Yellow = PFAS6 detected under state MCL
Red = exceeds state MCL for PFAS6
PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances) are a class of more than 12,000+ chemicals used to make products resist grease, oil, water, or heat. They are commonly used in cookware, cosmetics, food packaging, outdoor apparel, carpets, and firefighting foams among thousands of other products. PFAS are also widely used in industrial processes and then discharged into waterways.
PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment.
PFAS have been linked to serious health problems such as cancer, hormone disruption, immune suppression, and reproductive problems.
Scientists are concerned about how exposure to PFAS and other toxic chemicals can worsen the impacts of COVID-19.
PFAS travel far distances: one recent study found 60 tons of PFAS in the Arctic Ocean. Another recent study found that crashing waves create a “boomerang effect” with toxic PFAS re-emitted to air, transported long distances, and then deposited back onto land.
Scientists estimate that over 200 million Americans, more than 60% of the country’s population, are drinking water contaminated with PFAS. Nearly every American has PFAS in their body. They are found in blood, breast milk, and even umbilical cord blood of newborn babies.
As of June 22, 2022, 77% of Massachusetts cities and towns have found PFAS in their drinking water. One hundred and nineteen (119) communities have PFAS levels above the legal limit set by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Communities with PFAS levels above the legal limit for 3 consecutive months must take action to reduce PFAS in their drinking water.
Nationally, more than 2,800 sites in all 50 states are contaminated by PFAS.
Fish in Massachusetts have been found to have PFAS, posing a particular threat to people who may fish for food.
Massachusetts is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on cleaning up PFAS pollution in their communities and providing safe drinking water for its residents. At the same time PFAS manufacturers, 3M and Dupont (now Chemours) are experiencing record profits.
Firefighters have particularly high levels of PFAS in their blood, which only adds to their increased risk of developing cancer, the number one killer of firefighters. PFAS is in firefighting foam and in the personal protective equipment firefighters must wear to fight fires.
Scientists from around the world are calling on governments to eliminate the entire class of PFAS where possible due to the significant human health and environmental impacts.
A 2022 UN Human Rights Commission report urged countries to ban all uses of PFAS.
PFAS are Just the Tip of the Iceberg
PFAS are far from the only class of chemicals threatening public health.
A recent report revealed that chemical pollution has crossed a planetary boundary, the point at which human changes push the earth past a stable environment.
Plastics are inherently toxic and not only contain harmful plastic additives but they also absorb pollutants from the environment including PCBs.
Plasticizers like phthalates and bisphenols have been linked to infertility, cancer and developmental harm yet are ubiquitous in plastics, building materials, food packaging, and even food.
A 2021 study found more than 10,000 substances are used in the production of plastics, with over 2,400 being substances of concern.
Toxic flame retardants are still commonly used in electronics and building insulation despite evidence of neurodevelopmental harm caused by these chemicals and questions about whether they provide true fire safety benefits.
Industrial solvents and solvents in common household items pollute the air we breathe and water we drink, even killing some who use them.
Cancer is a leading cause of death among firefighters due to the high number of chemicals they are routinely exposed to.
Current rising global trends of chemical industry production.
Environmental Science & Technology 2022 56 (3), 1510-1521 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c04158
Chemicals are being produced and released into the environment at a pace that is not safe for the planet or public health.
Solutions
Massachusetts has begun to act on PFAS, but much more is needed. Massachusetts should:
Prohibit the use of PFAS in most products. In 2023-24 Massachusetts should pass legislation similar to Maine’s Act to Stop Perfluoroaklyl Pollution (HP1113/LD1503) that would:
Require manufacturers to disclose if PFAS is intentionally added to products
Ban PFAS in food packaging, children’s products, carpets/rugs/textiles, personal care products, and other applications
Set a timeline for the elimination of all PFAS-containing products, giving administrative authority to ban use categories, with narrow exemptions.
Prioritize prompt action to protect firefighters, who have been disproportionately harmed by PFAS in firefighting foam and personal protective equipment.
Require manufacturers to disclose if PFAS is intentionally added to products.
Ban PFAS in food packaging, children’s products, carpets/rugs/textiles, personal care products, and other applications.
Set a timeline for the elimination of all PFAS-containing products, giving administrative authority to ban use categories, with narrow exemptions.
Clean up contamination. There is widespread contamination of drinking water, surface water, groundwater, soil, and sludge by PFAS and other toxic chemicals.
Support ongoing testing, treatment and monitoring of private wells and public water systems.
Identify and clean up contaminated sites.
Update drinking water regulations to address emerging science, specifically expanding the maximum contaminant level for PFAS in drinking water to include all PFAS chemicals for which certified lab testing methods exist.
Prevent contamination through environmental media.
Restrict the use of PFAS in all products to be recycled or composted.
Prevent the land application of contaminated sludge. Identify contamination through the past agricultural application of sludge.
Develop plans for disposal of PFAS-containing waste, which may include storage of some waste until new technologies are developed. Restrict incineration, and prevent siting of untested technologies in environmental justice communities.
Address contamination of fish and wildlife.
Support highly impacted communities with health and medical monitoring and financial assistance to clean up contamination. When towns must provide alternative water, ensure that water is available to all vulnerable populations, including those who cannot drive to central filling stations.
Require chemical and material transparency for products. Most consumers have no idea what kinds of chemicals are used in the products they use. Many states have disclosure laws, requiring manufacturers to disclose their product ingredients to the public, retailers and regulators. New York, Maine, Vermont, Oregon and Washington all require the disclosure of toxic chemicals added to children’s products. California requires disclosure of toxic chemicals in cleaning and personal care products.
Massachusetts lags behind these states and should establish laws requiring the disclosure of toxic chemicals in consumer products, particularly children’s products, cleaning products, and personal care items.
Disclosure laws should be a first step in wider efforts to ban the most toxic chemicals from being used in products. For example, New York’s Child Safe Products Act, which requires disclosure and restricts the most toxic chemicals from being added to children’s products, is a model for the kind of health protective legislation Massachusetts should pass to better protect our state’s children.
Make polluters pay. For too long, taxpayers and ratepayers have borne the burden of paying to clean up pollution. Polluters who manufactured, used and dumped harmful chemicals should be required to pay to clean up contaminated water, air and soil. They should also compensate communities for the harm they have caused.
In the spring of 20222, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit against 13 chemical companies and firefighting foam manufacturers for the damage that their products have caused in Massachusetts. Massachusetts joined multi-district litigation that has been consolidated in South Carolina. This is an essential step to begin recovering damages, paying for clean-up and disincentivizing the kind of deceptive business practices that chemical companies practiced for years.
Of course, firefighting foam is not the only product with PFAS. States such as Vermont and New York, joined the multi-state foam litigation while also filing separate lawsuits targeting other sources of PFAS contamination. Massachusetts should consider a similar approach.
