Use and disposal of PFAS chemicals have contaminated air, water, soil, food, and consumer products all over the world.

• working with communities on testing for PFAS in surface waters and sludge from wastewater treatment plants
• policies and regulations to prevent contamination of lands and waters by PFAS in sludge and biosolids.

PFAS are extremely toxic at very small concentrations, entirely man made, do not exist in nature, worse than dioxin and virtually impossible to destroy. They survive conventional waste treatment technologies because they do not break down into harmless compounds.    They have contaminated drinking water sources and foods and are found in the blood of virtually all Americans.

PFAS chemicals are literally out of control. EPA routinely approves PFAS uses under the Toxic Substances Control Act but does not regulate their releases and disposal.  Meanwhile the chemical industry has been enormously effective in promoting PFAS through aggressive lobbying, withholding information, dissemination of misinformation, and active engagement with allies including users of their products.

​ The PFAS Team has expertise in chemistry, hazardous substance control and remediation, environmental health sciences, policy, and organizing.   Our main strategy is to build capacity for and support actions at the state and federal level to reduce use and discharges of PFAS, in partnership with Sierra Club staff.

Some of our members participated in the June 2024 National PFAS Conference in Ann Arbor.  We contributed two posters and one panel presentation. The conference organizers have posted presentation slides and recordings from the conference at this link  https://www.nationalpfasconference.org/2024videos

You can view our posters from the conference:

"Six Lessons Learned from Community Monitoring" by Sonya Lunder and others.

"PFAS Compounds Flow to Farms and Gardens via Wastewater" by Amy D Kyle, PhD MPH -- with the PFAS Team.