Get Cancer-Causing Chemicals Out of Our Drinking Water and Food

Target: EPA Administrator Michael Regan

Goal: Work quickly to combat the damage that polyfluoroalkyl substances have done to the environment.

Each person reading this is probably already poisoned by contaminated water, along with 99% of all other Americans, children, and adults alike. What’s in the water? Something called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which is found in all sorts of products from firefighting foam to stain-resistant carpets, from Teflon-coated pans to food wrappers.

These “forever chemicals” linger in the environment without biodegrading and build up in animals’ and humans’ bodies. The chemicals live in the water used to drink and cook, and in the animals that many people eat. But it isn’t just that they last forever. Even very low levels of PFAS have been connected to unnaturally high rates of cancer, autoimmune, liver, and kidney diseases, birth defects, and more.

According to new information from the EPA, more than 100 million people in the U.S. are drinking contaminated water from approximately 120,000 poisoned water sites across the country. So far, the situation isn’t getting better. Because PFAS are so ubiquitous, living in nearly every product under the sun, people just keep getting more exposed. The EPA must take action fast!

Under the Biden-Harris administration, the EPA is finally taking the situation seriously. While there are no maximum contaminant levels set for PFAS chemicals currently, that could be about to change. Over the next few years, the agency is ready to study the effects and use of PFAS more, including its levels in our environment. But we’re unlikely to see any regulatory changes for a while, and we don’t have that long to wait.

The EPA is finally working to restrict PFAS, but they must move faster. Sign below and demand that the government protect us from hazardous chemicals by clamping down on PFAS use and cleaning up our waterways.

PETITION LETTER

Dear Administrator Regan,

Thank you for your administration’s work towards combating PFAS, these so-called “forever chemicals.” It is a definite step in the right direction, working to study the effects and levels of the chemicals in our environment, but it is not enough. Well over 100 million men, women, and children have been hurt already by ingestion and exposure to PFAS, and because these chemicals are so ubiquitous that number is bound to go up.

We do not have that long to wait. Diseases connected to PFAS will get worse, and the EPA must move quickly to clamp down on their use. Please, speed up the restriction of PFAS and protect the citizens in danger.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: André Künzelmann