Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are in the blood of 97% of Americans. They’re in at least 45% of the country’s tap water. They do not degrade easily. That’s why they’re called “forever chemicals.”
The health case is settled. In 2023, the World Health Organization’s cancer agency classified PFOA — a specific type of PFA — as carcinogenic to humans, the same Group 1 carcinogen category as asbestos and tobacco. Studies link PFAS exposure to increased risk of kidney cancer, thyroid disease, immune suppression and developmental harm in infants. People exposed to PFAS show reduced vaccine responses.
In Parkersburg, West Virginia, residents drank contaminated water decades before learning DuPont, an American chemical company, had been dumping PFOA into their water supply. The resulting health study of over 69,000 people found probable links to cancers, heart disease, thyroid disease, neurologic disorders, inflammatory and autoimmune disorders and pregnancy complications.
And yet, the first enforceable federal drinking water standard didn’t arrive until 2024, which is more than five decades after manufacturers knew these chemicals were toxic. Internal documents show DuPont understood PFOA’s dangers by 1970. A study by the 3M company exposed “forever chemicals” to monkeys, resulting in their deaths and indicating the chemicals were dangerous. However, 3M told no one.
This is not a new pattern.
Lead was added to gasoline in 1923, despite scientists warning it was poisonous. The industry claimed there were no alternatives. The ban didn’t come until 1996 — 73 years of preventable harm.
Tobacco followed the same script. By 1953, companies knew smoking caused cancer. They responded by hiring PR firms and demanding more research. The Food and Drug Administration didn’t gain regulatory authority until 2009.
PFAS are the same story of public denial and delayed action. The only difference is that we’re living through it now.
The argument for waiting is always the same: Correlation isn’t causation. But demanding certainty is itself a choice that favors the companies who created the problem over the people living with it.
Inaction is not neutrality. It’s a policy decision with consequences measured in disease, not dollars.
