Tell Your State Legislators to Ban Toxic PFAS

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals” are a class of highly toxic man-made fluorinated chemicals used in a variety of products, including waterproof fabric, stain-resistant carpets, nonstick pans, flame retardant furniture, take-out containers, cosmetics and firefighting foam.

PFAS kills. There is scientific evidence that it causes cancer, kidney disease, birth defects, and liver damage, and batters the immune system.

TAKE ACTION: Tell Your State Legislators to Ban Toxic PFAS!

Amara Strande died at age 20 of liver cancer due to PFAS exposure. Scotchguard manufacturer 3M had been dumping its waste in Maplewood, her St. Paul suburb, since the 1950s.

In 2023, the same year Amara passed away, Minnesota became the second state in the nation to ban PFAS when it passed the bill she tirelessly lobbied for until her untimely death. It came to be known as Amara’s Law.

Maine was the first state to ban PFAS in 2022. Maine’s ban includes a ban on the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer (the industry name for it is “biosolids”). A few other states, notably Michigan, are testing sewage sludge for PFAS.

The reason why PFAS has been detected in the blood of 98% of Americans and is contaminating 45% of U.S. tap water, is because companies like 3M and DuPont have always had (and, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, still have) a free pass to dump their waste right into streams, rivers and sewage systems.

Michigan sets standards for what levels are acceptable in sewage sludge. As Harvest Public Media reported, “if wastewater plants detect two compounds, PFOA and PFOS, above 100 parts per billion (ppb) in biosolids, they are considered ‘industrially impacted’ and can no longer be applied to land. If they're under 20 pbb, they’re in the clear.”

According to the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, in 2024, 30 states introduced 129 pieces of legislation to address PFAS and four—Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia—passed bills.

TAKE ACTION: Tell Your State Legislators to Ban Toxic PFAS!

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*SAMPLE TEXT TO YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS*

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Dear [State Legislator],

Maine and Minnesota have passed broad bans on products containing PFAS.

Maine’s PFAS ban includes a prohibition on the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer (the industry name for it is “biosolids”). A few other states, notably Michigan, are testing sewage sludge for PFAS.

Every state in the nation should do the same.

Chemical companies like DuPont and 3M have covered up evidence of the dangerous human health and environmental impacts of PFAS since the 1960s.

Today, overwhelming research links PFAS to a wide range of health problems, including kidney, testicular, bladder, and prostate cancer, as well as developmental, immune, reproductive, and hormonal dysfunction.

Chemical companies are replacing older PFAS with other chemicals in the PFAS family. Unfortunately, these replacements, such as GenX, act a lot like older PFAS, and studies show that they can present similar hazards. Short-chain perfluoroalkyl sulfonates and perfluoroalkyl carboxylates adversely affect rat livers and thyroid hormones just like their long-chain homologues do.

PFAS do not break down naturally and bioaccumulate in the environment and our bodies.

It’s time to ban all PFAS and set to work cleaning up the water and remediating the land. Some plants, including hemp, have been shown to suck PFAS out of the soil, a process known as "phytoremediation."

For more information, please contact the National Conference of Environmental Legislators: http://www.ncelenviro.org/issue/pfas/

Thank you for your attention to this important issue.

[Your Name]

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