Millions of Americans exposed to ‘forever chemicals’

The US Environmental Protection Agency has identified more than 120,000 locations where people may be exposed to a class of toxic “forever chemicals” associated with various cancers and other health problems. The tally is four times larger than any previously reported, according to data obtained by the Guardian.

The EPA’s list makes it clear that virtually nowhere appears free from the potential risk of air and water contamination with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Colorado tops the list with an estimated 21,400 facilities, followed by California’s 13,000 sites and Oklahoma with just under 12,000. The facilities on the list represent dozens of industrial sectors, including oil and gas work, mining, chemical manufacturing, plastics, waste management and landfill operations. Airports, fire training facilities and some militaryrelated sites are also included.

Most of the facilities are described as “active”, several thousand are listed as “inactive” and many others show no indication of status. PFAS are often referred to as “forever chemicals” due to their longevity in the environment, thus sites that are no longer actively discharging pollutants can still be a problem, according to the EPA.

People living near such facilities were “certain to be exposed, some at very high levels” to PFAS, said David Brown, a public health toxicologist and former director of environmental epidemiology at the Connecticut department of health. He suspected there were far more polluted sites. “It almost never breaks down,” Brown said of PFAS. “This is such a potent compound in terms of its toxicity and it tends to bioaccumulate.”

Oil and gas lead the list of sectors the EPA says may be handling PFAS. In July, a Physicians for Social Responsibility report presented evidence that oil and gas companies have been using PFAS, or substances that can degrade into PFAS, in hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), a technique for extracting natural gas or oil.

The EPA said in 2019 that it was compiling data to create a map of “known or potential PFAS contamination sources”. No such map has yet been issued publicly.

PFAS are a group of more than 5,000 man-made compounds used since the 1940s in electronics manufacturing, oil recovery, paints, fire-fighting foams, cleaning products and nonstick cookware. People can be exposed through contaminated drinking water, food and air, as well as contact with commercial products made with PFAS.

The EPA acknowledged there was “evidence that exposure to PFAS can cause adverse health outcomes in humans”. It said there was only “very limited information” about most PFAS chemicals. Scientists at the non-profit Environmental Working Group said more than 200 million Americans could have worrying levels of PFAS in their drinking water.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) asserts that PFAS concerns are overblown. Major manufacturers have backed away from the PFOS and PFOA-related chemicals that research has shown to be hazardous, and other types of PFAS are not proven to be dangerous, according to the industry organisation. “PFAS are vital” to modern society, according to the ACC.

But public health and environmental groups, along with some members of Congress, say the risks from PFAS are substantial.

One of the sites on the EPA list is the Clover Flat landfill in Calistoga, California, a small community in the Napa Valley area. Though the EPA list does not specifically confirm Clover Flat is handling PFAS, the community has no doubt about the presence of the toxic chemicals. A May 2020 water sampling report showed that PFAS were present in every sample taken from groundwater and leachate around the landfill.

“The water is full of foam and looks soapy and smells funny,” said 69-yearold Dennis Kelly, who lives downhill from Clover Flat. His dog became sick after wading through waters that drained from the landfill into a creek, Kelly said. And for the past few years he has suffered with colon and stomach cancer. He fears the water is toxic, and has noticed the frogs and tadpoles that once populated the little creek are nowhere to be found. “Pollution is going to be what kills us all,” he said.