What are PFAS, and why is the EPA warning about them in drinking water? An environmental health scientist explains

Kathryn Crawford, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health, Middlebury

 The Conversation
Tue, March 7, 2023 

PFAS, often used in water-resistant gear, also find their way into drinking water and human bodies. CasarsaGuru via Getty Images

You’ve probably been hearing the term PFAS in the news lately as states and the U.S. government consider rules and guidelines for managing these “forever chemicals.”

Even if the term is new to you, chances are good that you’re familiar with what PFAS do. That’s because they’re found in everything from nonstick cookware to carpets to ski wax.

PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are a large group of human-made chemicals – currently estimated to be around 9,000 individual chemical compounds – that are used widely in consumer products and industry. They can make products resistant to water, grease and stains and protect against fire.

Waterproof outdoor apparel and cosmetics, stain-resistant upholstery and carpets, food packaging that is designed to prevent liquid or grease from leaking through, and certain firefighting equipment often contain PFAS. In fact, one recent study found that most products labeled stain- or water-resistant contained PFAS, and another study found that this is even true among products labeled as “nontoxic” or “green.” PFAS are also found in unexpected places like high-performance ski and snowboard waxes, floor waxes and medical devices.

At first glance, PFAS sound pretty useful, so you might be wondering “what’s the big deal?”

The short answer is that PFAS are harmful to human health and the environment.

Some of the very same chemical properties that make PFAS attractive in products also mean these chemicals will persist in the environment for generations. Because of the widespread use of PFAS, these chemicals are now present in water, soil and living organisms and can be found across almost every part of the planet, including Arctic glaciers, marine mammals, remote communities living on subsistence diets, and in 98% of the American public.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently issued new warnings about their risk in drinking water even at very low levels.

Health risks from PFAS exposure

Once people are exposed to PFAS, the chemicals remain in their bodies for a long time – months to years, depending on the specific compound – and they can accumulate over time.

Research consistently demonstrates that PFAS are associated with a variety of adverse health effects. A recent review by a panel of experts looking at research on PFAS toxicity concluded with a high degree of certainty that PFAS contribute to thyroid disease, elevated cholesterol, liver damage and kidney and testicular cancer.

Stain-resistant fabrics and carpets often contain PFAS. Deagreez via Getty Images

Further, they concluded with a high degree of certainty that PFAS also affect babies exposed in utero by increasing their likelihood of being born at a lower birth weight and responding less effectively to vaccines, while impairing women’s mammary gland development, which may adversely impact a mom’s ability to breastfeed.

The review also found evidence that PFAS may contribute to a number of other disorders, though further research is needed to confirm existing findings: inflammatory bowel disease, reduced fertility, breast cancer and an increased likelihood of miscarriage and developing high blood pressure and preeclampsia during pregnancy. Additionally, current research suggests that babies exposed prenatally are at higher risk of experiencing obesity, early-onset puberty and reduced fertility later in life.

Collectively, this is a formidable list of diseases and disorders.

Who’s regulating PFAS?

PFAS chemicals have been around since the late 1930s, when a DuPont scientist created one by accident during a lab experiment. DuPont called it Teflon, which eventually became a household name for its use on nonstick pans.

Decades later, in 1998, Scotchgard maker 3M notified the Environmental Protection Agency that a PFAS chemical was showing up in human blood samples. At the time, 3M said low levels of the manufactured chemical had been detected in people’s blood as early as the 1970s.

Despite the lengthy list of serious health risks linked to PFAS and a tremendous amount of federal investment in PFAS-related research in recent years, PFAS haven’t been regulated at the federal level in the United States.

The EPA has issued advisories and health-based guidelines for two PFAS compounds – PFOA and PFOS – in drinking water, though these guidelines are not legally enforceable standards. And the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has a toxicological profile for PFAS.

Federal rules could be coming. Congress is considering legislation to ban PFAS in some food packaging. The EPA has a road map for PFAS regulations it is considering, including regulations involving drinking water. The Biden administration has said it also expects to list PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Superfund law, a move that worries utilities and businesses that use PFAS-containing products or processes because of the expense of cleanup.

States, meanwhile, have been taking their own actions to protect residents against the risk of PFAS exposure.

At least 23 states have laws targeting PFAS in various uses, such as in food packaging and carpets. But relying on state laws places burdens on state agencies responsible for enforcing them and creates a patchwork of regulations which, in turn, place burdens on business and consumers to navigate regulatory nuances across state lines.

So, what can you do about PFAS?

Based on current scientific understanding, most people are exposed to PFAS primarily through their diet, though drinking water and airborne exposures may be significant among some people, especially if they live near known PFAS-related industries or contamination.

The best ways to protect yourself and your family from risks associated with PFAS are to educate yourself about potential sources of exposures.

Products labeled as water- or stain-resistant have a good chance of containing PFAS. Check the ingredients on products you buy and watch for chemical names containing “fluor-.” Specific trade names, such as Teflon and Gore-Tex, are also likely to contain PFAS.

Check whether there are sources of contamination near you, such as in drinking water or PFAS-related industries in the area. Some states don’t test or report PFAS contamination, so the absence of readily available information does not necessarily mean the region is free of PFAS problems.

For additional information about PFAS, check out the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, EPA and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention websites or contact your state or local public health department.

If you believe you have been exposed to PFAS and are concerned about your health, contact your health care provider. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has a succinct report to help health care professionals understand the clinical implications of PFAS exposure.

This article was updated July 8, 2022, with new legislation signed in Rhode Island and Hawaii.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

It was written by: Kathryn Crawford, Middlebury.

Read more:

PFAS are showing up in children’s stain- and water-resistant products – including those labeled ‘nontoxic’ and ‘green’

PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ are widespread and threaten human health – here’s a strategy for protecting the public

Restoring the Great Lakes: After 50 years of US-Canada joint efforts, some success and lots of unfinished business

Kathryn Crawford has received funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

Regulating 'forever chemicals': 3 essential reads on PFAS

The Conversation
Tue, March 7, 2023 

A new federal regulation will set national limits on two 'forever chemicals' widely found in drinking water. Thanasis Zovoilis/moment via Getty Images

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to release a draft regulation limiting two fluorinated chemicals, known by the abbreviations PFOA and PFOS, in drinking water. These chemicals are two types of PFAS, a broad class of substances often referred to as “forever chemicals” because they are very persistent in the environment.

PFAS are widely used in hundreds of products, from nonstick cookware coatings to food packaging, stain- and water-resistant clothing and firefighting foams. Studies show that high levels of PFAS exposure may lead to health effects that include reduced immune system function, increased cholesterol levels and elevated risk of kidney or testicular cancer.

Population-based screenings over the past 20 years show that most Americans have been exposed to PFAS and have detectable levels in their blood. The new regulation is designed to protect public health by setting an enforceable maximum standard limiting how much of the two target chemicals can be present in drinking water – one of the main human exposure pathways.

These three articles from The Conversation’s archives explain growing concerns about the health effects of exposure to PFAS and why many experts support national regulation of these chemicals.

1. Ubiquitous and persistent

PFAS are useful in many types of products because they provide resistance to water, grease and stains, and protect against fire. Studies have found that most products labeled stain- or water-resistant contained PFAS – even if those products are labeled as “nontoxic” or “green.”

“Once people are exposed to PFAS, the chemicals remain in their bodies for a long time – months to years, depending on the specific compound – and they can accumulate over time,” wrote Middlebury College environmental health scholar Kathryn Crawford. A 2021 review of PFAS toxicity studies in humans “concluded with a high degree of certainty that PFAS contribute to thyroid disease, elevated cholesterol, liver damage and kidney and testicular cancer.”

The review also found strong evidence that in utero PFAS exposure increases the chances that babies will be born at low birth weights and have reduced immune responses to vaccines. Other possible effects yet to be confirmed include “inflammatory bowel disease, reduced fertility, breast cancer and an increased likelihood of miscarriage and developing high blood pressure and preeclampsia during pregnancy.”

“Collectively, this is a formidable list of diseases and disorders,” Crawford observed.

Read more: What are PFAS, and why is the EPA warning about them in drinking water? An environmental health scientist explains

2. Why national regulations are needed

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to set enforceable national regulations for drinking water contaminants. It also can require state, local and tribal governments, which manage drinking water supplies, to monitor public water systems for the presence of contaminants.

Until now, however, the agency has not set binding standards limiting PFAS exposure, although it has issued nonbinding advisory guidelines. In 2009 the agency established a health advisory level for PFOA in drinking water of 400 parts per trillion. In 2016, it lowered this recommendation to 70 parts per trillion, and in 2022 it reduced this threshold to near-zero.

But many scientists have found fault with this approach. EPA’s one-at-a-time approach to assessing potentially harmful chemicals “isn’t working for PFAS, given the sheer number of them and the fact that manufacturers commonly replace toxic substances with ‘regrettable substitutes – similar, lesser-known chemicals that also threaten human health and the environment,” wrote North Carolina State University biologist Carol Kwiatkowski.

In 2020 Kwiatkowski and other scientists urged the EPA to manage the entire class of PFAS chemicals as a group, instead of one by one. “We also support an 'essential uses’ approach that would restrict their production and use only to products that are critical for health and proper functioning of society, such as medical devices and safety equipment. And we have recommended developing safer non-PFAS alternatives,” she wrote.

Read more: PFAS 'forever chemicals' are widespread and threaten human health – here's a strategy for protecting the public

Medical assistant Jennifer Martinez draws blood from Joshua Smith in Newburgh, N.Y., Nov. 3, 2016, to test for PFOS levels. PFOS had been used for years in firefighting foam at the nearby military air base, and was found in the city’s drinking water reservoir at levels exceeding federal guidelines. AP Photo/Mike Groll

3. Breaking down PFAS

PFAS chemicals are widely present in water, air, soil and fish around the world. Unlike with some other types of pollutants, there is no natural process that breaks down PFAS once they get into water or soil. Many scientists are working to develop ways of capturing these chemicals from the environment and breaking them down into harmless components.

There are ways to filter PFAS out of water, but that’s just the start. “Once PFAS is captured, then you have to dispose of PFAS-loaded activated carbons, and PFAS still moves around. If you bury contaminated materials in a landfill or elsewhere, PFAS will eventually leach out. That’s why finding ways to destroy it are essential,” wrote Michigan State University chemists A. Daniel Jones and Hui Li.

Incineration is the most common technique, they explained, but that typically requires heating the materials to around 1,500 degrees Celsius (2,730 degrees Fahrenheit), which is expensive and requires special incinerators. Various chemical processes offer alternatives, but the approaches that have been developed so far are hard to scale up. And converting PFAS into toxic byproducts is a significant concern.

“If there’s a lesson to be learned, it’s that we need to think through the full life cycle of products. How long do we really need chemicals to last?” Jones and Li wrote.

Read more: How to destroy a 'forever chemical' – scientists are discovering ways to eliminate PFAS, but this growing global health problem isn't going away soon

Editor’s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. 

It was written by: Jennifer Weeks, The Conversation.

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EPA Acts to Keep ‘Inactive’ Forever Chemicals Off the Market

WASHINGTON, DC, February 3, 2023 (ENS) – They’re called “forever chemicals” for a reason – because they don’t break down in the environment over time. Toxic per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, are the forever chemicals, and they’re not rare – more than 9,000 PFAS have been identified.

These chemicals, resistant to both water and grease, are used in products from nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, take-out containers and food packaging, to firefighting foams, fire retardants and repellents. And these compounds now are found in drinking water systems across the United States.

Scientists from the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, David Andrews and his EWG colleague Olga Naidenko, estimated in 2021 that the tap water of more than 200 million people, a majority of Americans, is contaminated with a mixture of PFOA and PFOS at concentrations of one part per trillion (ppt) or higher.

Last October, another nonprofit, the Waterkeeper Alliance, released its analysis of American waterways. It, too, sounds a loud alarm. In a test of 114 waterways across the country, 83 percent were found to contain at least one type of PFAS.

San Diego Creek, Orange County, California in 2016. In 2022 it tested higher in PFAS than any waterway tested on the West Coast.
(Photo by Sergei Gussev)

San Diego Creek in Orange County, California contained the highest levels of PFAS concentrations of all sample sites on the West Coast. In total, 15 different PFAS compounds were found in detectable quantities.

But exposure to these chemicals harms both the environment and health health. Human exposure to PFAS is linked to kidney and testicular cancer, impaired functioning of the liver, kidneys, and immune system, endocrine disruption, fertility problems, birth defects, and developmental damage to infants, according to the National Institutes of Health. The agency points to a long-term study showing a link between PFAS exposure and increased risk of Type 2 diabetes in women. Other studies indicate a decrease in vaccine effectiveness in children.

When he was campaigning for the 2020 election, now President Joe Biden issued an environmental justice plan that called out forever chemicals. The plan promised that if elected Biden would “tackle PFAS pollution by designating PFAS as a hazardous substance, setting enforceable limits for PFAS in the Safe Drinking Water Act, prioritizing substitutes through procurement, and accelerating toxicity studies and research on PFAS.”

In October 2021, the Biden Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, launched a new three-year PFAS Roadmap to guide the agency’s activities to research, restrict, and remediate harmful PFAS through 2024.

The PFAS Roadmap includes a new national testing strategy to accelerate research and regulatory development, a proposal to designate certain PFAS as hazardous substances under an existing law, and actions to broaden and accelerate the cleanup of PFAS as well as steps to, “hold polluters accountable [and] address the impacts on disadvantaged communities,” according to a White House fact sheet. The roadmap is the product of the EPA PFAS Council, which EPA Administrator Michael Regan established soon after he took office.

The alarm bells keep ringing. Last June, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, released updated health advisories warning that even tiny amounts of two types of the chemicals, PFOS and PFOA, are harmful to human health.

On the cleanup front, the Department of Defense is moving swiftly to address PFAS at military sites throughout the country, but it’s a big job and progress is slow. The department is currently conducting PFAS cleanup assessments at the nearly 700 DOD installations and National Guard locations where PFAS was used or may have been released, and expects to have completed all initial assessments by the end of 2023.

Last week, the EPA took another step to limit the amount of PFAS chemicals are released into the environment by seeking public comment on limiting “inactive” PFAS.

EPA Proposal Would Check Out “Inactive” PFAS

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has just proposed for public comment a rule that would prevent companies from starting or resuming the manufacture, processing or use of an estimated 300 PFAS that have not been made or used for many years without a complete EPA review and risk determination.

In the past, these chemicals, known as “inactive PFAS,” may have been used as binding agents, surfactants, in the production of sealants and gaskets, and may have been released into the environment, the EPA says.

An “inactive” designation means that a chemical substance has not been manufactured (including imported) or processed in the United States since June 21, 2006. Without the proposed rule, companies could resume uses of these PFAS without notification to and review by EPA.

Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Michal Freedhoff (Photo courtesy U.S. EPA)

“This proposal is part of EPA’s comprehensive strategy to stop PFAS from entering our air, land and water and harming our health and the planet,” said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff, who helped to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act in 2016.

“The rule would put needed protections in place where none currently exist to ensure that EPA can slam the door shut on all unsafe uses of these 300 PFAS,” she said.

When the Toxic Substances Control Act, TSCA, was first passed in 1976, thousands of chemicals were grandfathered in under the statute and allowed to remain in commerce without additional EPA review.

Before TSCA was amended in 2016, EPA completed formal reviews on only about 20 percent of new chemicals and had no authority to address new chemicals about which the agency lacked sufficient information. This is part of the reason why many chemicals, including PFAS, were allowed into commerce without a complete review, Freedhoff explained in a statement.

Under the newly proposed Significant New Use Rule, if the EPA adopts it after public comment, the agency must formally review the safety of all of new chemicals before they are allowed into commerce.

TSCA also requires EPA to compile, keep current and publish a list of each chemical that is manufactured, imported, or processed in the United States for uses under TSCA, known as the TSCA Inventory. TSCA also requires EPA to designate each chemical on the TSCA Inventory as either “active” or “inactive” in commerce.

The proposal would first require companies to notify EPA before they could use any of these 300 chemicals. The agency would then be required to conduct a robust review of health and safety information under the modernized 2016 law to determine if their use may present unreasonable risk to human health or the environment and put any necessary restrictions in place before the use could restart.

EPA will accept public comments on the proposed rule for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register via docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2022-0876 at www.regulations.gov

Meanwhile, There’s a Tool for That

On January 5, the EPA offered something new for people concerned about PFAS and the harms they can cause.

EPA released a new interactive webpage, called the “PFAS Analytic Tools,” which provides comprehensive information about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances across the country.

Map of known sites contaminated with PFAS across the United States. (Map courtesy U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

EPA’s PFAS Analytic Tools draws from multiple national databases and reports to consolidate information in one webpage.

The tools allow mapping, charting, and filtering functions, so the public can see where testing has been done and what level of PFAS detections were measured.

“EPA’s PFAS Analytic Tools webpage brings together for the first time data from multiple sources in an easy to use format,” said John Dombrowski, director of EPA’s Office of Compliance. “This webpage will help communities gain a better understanding of local PFAS sources.”

The PFAS Analytic Tools includes information on Clean Water Act PFAS discharges from permitted sources, reported spills containing PFAS constituents, facilities historically manufacturing or importing PFAS, federally owned locations where PFAS is being investigated, transfers of PFAS-containing waste, PFAS detection in natural resources such as fish or surface water, and drinking water testing results.

The tools cover a broad list of PFAS and represent EPA’s ongoing efforts to provide the public with access to the growing amount of testing information that is available.

Because the regulatory framework for PFAS chemicals is emerging, data users should pay close attention to the caveats found within the site, the EPA advises.

Rather than wait for complete national data to be available, EPA is publishing what is currently available while information continues to fill in. Because of the differences in testing and reporting across the country, EPA officials warn that the data “should not be used for comparisons across cities, counties, or states.”

To improve the availability of the data in the future, EPA has published its fifth Safe Drinking Water Act Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule to expand on the initial drinking water data reporting that was conducted in 2013-2016.

Beginning in 2023, this expansion will bring the number of drinking water PFAS samples collected by regulatory agencies into the millions, the agency says.

EPA also expanded the Toxics Release Inventory reporting requirements in recent years to include over 175 PFAS substances, and more information should be received in 2023.

EPA will continue working toward the expansion of data sets in the PFAS Analytic Tools to improve collective knowledge about PFAS occurrence in the environment.

See information about the new PFAS Analytic Tools here and open the tools here.

PFAS Fighters Make Progress on the Scientific Front

The National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences Superfund Research Program funds the search for practical applications to protect the public from exposures to hazardous substances.

Examples include:

• The Sources, Transport, Exposure, and Effects of PFASs (STEEP) project, at the University of Rhode Island, is identifying sources of PFAS contamination, assessing human health effects, and educating communities on ways to reduce exposure. ¹¹
• The Michigan State Superfund Research Center is developing energy-efficient nanoreactors capable of breaking the carbon-fluorine bond that keeps PFAS from degrading.
• Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, are working on options to contain aqueous film-forming foams used for firefighting, a major source of PFAS contamination.
• The Brown University Superfund Research Center has developed databases that exploit land use data to identify cities and towns at high risk for PFAS exposure. ¹²
• Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grantee CycloPure, Inc., has developed a new way to remove hazardous PFAS from water. The water pitcher-based filters should be an affordable option for people concerned about PFAS exposure where they live or work.
• A team at the North Carolina State University SRP Center is studying alligators living in PFAS-contaminated water to understand possible effects on the immune system. They also developed a new high-throughput tool to quickly characterize how PFAS may be transported within the body and potentially cause harm.
• Another SBIR project by EnChem Engineering, Inc. is developing an innovative technology to speed up removal of PFAS at Superfund sites.
• SRP-funded small business AxNano developed a portable tool that relies on nanoparticles to quickly detect PFAS in samples. Their method is more affordable and efficient than traditional mass spectrometry.

Featured image: Drillers with Plains Environmental Services, Inc. conduct hydraulic profiling and electrical conductivity testing using a Geoprobe mobile drilling rig during a remedial investigation into the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, at Truax Field in Madison, Wisconsin, March 22, 2022. (Photo by Senior Master Sgt. Paul Gorman courtesy U.S. Air National Guard)

Environment News Service (ENS) © 2023 All Rights Reserved.

PFAS Explained: These Forever Chemicals Are Being Banned from a Variety of Outdoor Products. Now Gear Makers Are Scrambling

PFAS are poisoning America’s watersheds and will eventually be banned in several states. That will require the outdoor gear industry to make some major changes

By Laura Lancaster

Posted On May 8, 2024 

Outdoor gear is in the midst of a sea change. A common family of chemicals used for waterproofing, stain resistance, and durability — PFAS — is being banned in textiles in California and in apparel in New York starting in 2025. As a result, outdoor gear companies are working hard to remove these chemicals from their products. With PFAS being utilized in DWR treatments on wind jackets, waterproof treatment on down, tent fabrics, rain jackets, and much more, this will require a major shift for the industry. But what is PFAS, and why is it being banned? 

The reality is that the PFAS found in rain jackets is just the tip of the iceberg. PFAS have been in use for decades across a range of products and industries, including the outdoor industry. And the full impact of that toxic legacy is now turning up in our environment and in our bodies at an alarming rate. 

What Is PFAS?

PFAS, short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, was originally developed by Dupont in 1938, and a version of it quickly found its way into any number of household goods under a familiar name: Teflon. Its waterproof and stain-resistant properties made it extremely popular. Today there are nearly 15,000 chemicals in the PFAS family, including PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) and PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid), which are found in everything from rain jackets to food packaging to shampoo.

What makes these chemicals unique is the carbon and fluorine bonds in their atomic structure. Because carbon and fluorine bonds are very strong, they do not break down easily. For that reason, they are known as “forever chemicals.” They build up in the environment, and they build in the human body. Based on an analysis of survey data from the National Center for Health Statistics for the years 2011 to 2012, it is estimated that 97 percent of Americans have PFAS in their bloodstream. 

Buildup of PFAS in the body can lead to cancer, developmental delays in children, and fertility issues. While it was once thought there might be some safe levels of some types of PFAS, the more research is done, the less this appears to be the case. It also seems that companies that made PFAS knew about its risks.

PFAS in Everyday Products

A lot of the coverage in outdoor media is currently focused on how legislation (particularly in California) is going to affect rain jacket quality, which makes sense given that many modern rain jackets (although not all) rely on PFAS for waterproofing. PFAS is found in the DWR; and it’s found in the waterproof membrane. Gear companies that have not already transitioned toward a PFAS-free chemistry for their outdoor apparel are scrambling to get there before California’s deadline. 

But if you already own gear that contains PFAS, feel free to hang on to it. First off, it’s not the only thing you’ve got that contains PFAS. If your shirt (or your kid’s shirt) is advertising itself as “stain resistant,” then it probably utilizes PFAS. It’s in shampoo, nail polish, and toilet paper. Up until very recently, it was in carpets. It’s practically omnipresent inside your home. But more importantly, there is currently no indication that PFAS passes the skin barrier readily enough to pose a risk.

How PFAS Gets into the Bloodstream

A sign warns hunters not to eat deer because of elevated levels of PFAS chemicals in game animals.

Photo by Drew YoungeDyke, National Wildlife Federation via AP

PFAS gets into your body when you ingest it, which means breathing, eating, or drinking. Here’s how that is currently happening.

For most Americans, the risk of breathing in PFAS is relatively minor. This is mainly an issue for individuals who work in chemical plants where PFAS is being manufactured. However, there may be risks to individuals who live near these factories. One exception to this is skiers and snowboarders, as there is risk of exposure when applying ski wax containing PFAS. Vermont has banned PFAS in ski wax and popular ski destinations, including Park City, Utah, have followed suit. 

Accidentally munching on some PFAS is more of an issue. While the potential risk from teflon pans is reasonably well known at this point in time, we know less about how common PFAS is in food packaging. Studies have shown that eating out more often, as well as consuming certain high-risk products like tea and microwave popcorn, is associated with higher levels of PFAS in the bloodstream. As a result, much more legislation — including from California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington — is focused on removing PFAS from food packaging. 

Unfortunately for hunters and anglers, eliminating processed foods from your diet will not necessarily protect you from PFAS exposure. In some states, deer have been found with high levels of PFAS in their system. So have freshwater fish. 

PFAS Is in the Water

The biggest problem with PFAS is that it’s increasingly turning up in the water supply. There are a few reasons this is happening. PFAS leaching out of landfills, due to the sheer number of products in said landfills that contain PFAS. Another source of contamination is a type of firefighting foam called AFFF, which contains PFAS. This foam was very effective at fighting fires, but in places where it was used, including training grounds, it leached into the groundwater. This was a particular problem for the military, which contaminated the water with PFAS as a result of AFFF at more than 300 of their fire training sites. While some states have banned AFFF, it is still used by the military and municipal firefighters in some instances. A third issue is that the manufacturing plants that produce PFAS have been polluting rivers and watersheds. Dupont and the state of Ohio have already reached a settlement for $110 million dollars to clean up the PFOA that Dupont dumped into the Ohio River. Dupont’s subsidiary, Chemors, is currently embroiled in litigation over contamination in Cape Fear River in North Carolina. And the outdoor industry proper is a part of this problem, too. Gore (of Gore-tex notoriety) is currently dealing with its own lawsuit as a result of air and groundwater PFAS contamination to the community near their Cherry Hill, Maryland, plant. 

Protecting Yourself and Your Family

If you’re concerned about PFAS exposure, your first step should be to check out what PFAS testing has been done on your local water supply. As of 2022, the EPA’s recommendation for PFOS and PFOA (two of the most common PFAS chemicals) in drinking water is 0.04 ppt (parts per trillion). If your well or municipality’s water source turns out to be affected, you can reduce your exposure by changing the water you use for cooking and drinking. Be judicious about switching to bottled water, however, as the water sources used by some bottled water companies are also contaminated by PFAS. A better choice is to get a filter that is regulated to NSF/ANSI 53-2022 standards, like Epic Water Filters.

Read Next: The Best Filtered Water Bottles

But What About My Rain Gear?

First off, it’s worth noting that it’s not just rain gear that is being affected by this upcoming legislation. California’s Assembly Bill No. 1817 covers all apparel as well as textiles, such as backpacks. But the biggest change will be to rain gear, particularly rain gear that utilizes a Gore-tex membrane. While Gore-tex came out with a PFAS-free membrane in 2021, it is expected that the rest of their line will not be permissible under the upcoming law. (We reached out to Gore for this story, but did not hear back in time for publication.)

Outdoor enthusiasts are likely to be split on the issue of their rain gear. Some may be wondering if they need to wait until the ban goes into effect in 2025 to start purchasing PFAS-free gear. The answer is, no. If you’re looking to purchase a rain jacket that is free from PFAS today, you have a few options, including Patagonia’s Boulder Fork, Cotopaxi’s Ceilo series, or Fjallraven’s Keb Eco Shell. If you have an existing jacket that you are interested in re-upping the waterproofing on, you can also purchase PFAS-free technical washes, like those from Nikwax.

Other companies are working on getting their apparel lines up to date with these new regulations in time for the deadline at the end of this year. Companies like Forloh fall into this category. This is especially tricky when PFAS is being used for component parts — in my test of the best down jackets earlier this year, several companies told me that their jackets were PFAS free with the exception of the paint on the zipper. 

Listen to Learn More: Forever Chemicals 

But others may be concerned that great rain jackets are simply being regulated out of existence. First, there is a temporary exemption in both New York and California’s laws, for “severe wet conditions.” The law is specific that “hiking, camping, skiing, climbing, bicycling, and fishing” are not considered “severe wet conditions.” As examples of activities where severe wet conditions might be encountered, it gives “offshore fishing, offshore sailing, whitewater kayaking, and mountaineering.” When queried, both Stone Glacier and Kuiu stated that certain products in their lineup would fall under this latter category. But even this reprieve for “severe wet conditions” is limited to three years, with complete bans coming into effect in 2028. 

I think there is no question that consumers are going to see a difference in how gear that is PFAS-free performs, especially as it pertains to how long waterproofing lasts without retreatment. But how big of a difference it will be and the extent to which typical outdoor users will be impacted remains to be seen. OL plans to run a long-term test of current for-sale jackets containing PFAS in both the waterproof membrane and the DWR finish. We’ll compare this against current best-in-class PFAS free chemistry to see how they compare. However, due to the importance of reducing PFAS in our environment, we will be prioritizing PFAS-free gear in our testing and review stories going forward.