Sixty years since the chemical industry knew of its dangers, more and more is being uncovered about the scope and risks of the PFAS contamination crisis. Here is a curated list of resources that detail the explosive history of “forever chemicals.”
From EWG
- EWG’s PFAS Chemicals Page
- What are PFAS chemicals?
- Protect yourself from PFAS
- Guide to avoiding PFAS
Timelines
- DuPont and 3M’s Decades of Deception
- Dept. of Defense Use of AFFF
- EPA’s History of Action on PFAS
- EWG and Toxic Fluorinated Chemicals: 20 Years in the Fight Against PFAS
- For decades, the FDA knew toxic 'forever chemicals' were dangerous but continued to allow their use
- Timeline: ‘Forever chemicals’ and firefighters
- For 20-plus years, EPA has failed to regulate ‘forever chemicals’
- The Pentagon's History with PFAS Chemicals.
Reports
- PFAS Contamination of Drinking Water Far More Prevalent Than Previously Reported
- EWG’s PFAS Standards to Protect Human Health
- PFAS Contamination of Drinking Water Far More Prevalent Than Previously Reported
- DuPont Hid Teflon Pollution for Decades
- Poisoned Legacy: Ten Years Later, Chemical Safety and Justice for DuPont’s Teflon Victims Remain Elusive
- PFAS in Drinking Water: Summary Report in EWG Tap Water Database
- PFAS in Food Packaging: Many Fast Food Wrappers Still Coated in PFCs, Kin to Carcinogenic Teflon Chemical
- Federal PFAS Report Card
- For decades, the department of defense knew firefighting foams with ‘forever chemicals’ were dangerous but continued their use
- For decades, the FDA knew toxic 'forever chemicals' were dangerous but continued to allow their use
- Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ Likely Discharged Near Schools in 18 States
- How Investing $75 Billion on Infrastructure Will Make Drinking Water Safer
- For decades, polluters knew PFAS chemicals were dangerous but hid risks from public
- EWG Proposes PFAS Standards That Fully Protect Children’s Health
- Mapping PFAS Chemical Contamination at 206 U.S. Military Sites
- EWG's Guide to Perfluorochemicals
Articles
- Is Teflon in Your Cosmetics?
- Children's Exposure to PFAS Chemicals Begins in the Womb
- FDA Tests Confirm Suspicions About PFAS Chemicals in Food
- PFAS in Drinking Water: Hazardous at Ever-Lower Levels
- ‘Forever chemicals’ polluters could soon face new limits
- New study finds over 57,000 additional suspected dischargers of toxic ‘forever chemicals’
- High ‘forever chemicals’ levels found in drinking water of more communities near DOD sites
- More than 2,000 communities have drinking water with ‘forever chemicals’ above new EPA levels
- FDA test results again downplay risks of ‘forever chemicals’ in food
- EPA finds PFAS are more toxic than previously thought
- In parts of the U.S., it’s raining PFAS
- EPA creates new PFAS council, narrows exemption for new PFAS
- Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ Likely Discharged Near Schools in 18 States
- Study: Chemicals in Cosmetics Linked to Lung Damage in Children
- New research: PFAS detected in some menstrual and incontinence products
- Study: Exposure to toxic ‘forever chemicals’ during pregnancy increases odds of health harms
- Flawed WHO report on ‘forever chemicals’ fails human health, EWG scientists find
- Environmental injustice: Passing on the costs of ‘forever chemicals’ cleanup
- EWG: ‘Forever chemicals’ may taint nearly 20 million cropland acres
- New tests find toxic 'forever chemicals' in bedding, yoga pants and other textiles
- PFAS: What the Defense Department’s inspector general found, ignored and obscured
- Feeding the Waste Cycle: How PFAS ‘Disposal’ Perpetuates Contamination
Mapping the PFAS crisis
- PFAS Contamination in the U.S
- Known & Suspected PFAS Contamination at 708 U.S. Military Sites
- Known & Suspected PFAS Contamination at Industrial Sites
- ‘Forever chemicals’ in freshwater fish
- Global danger: Wildlife at risk from PFAS exposure
- PFAS contamination across Tribal Lands (August 16, 2021)
- Known PFAS Contamination of Tap Water or Groundwater at Military Installations
- Known & Suspected PFAS Contamination at 710** U.S. Military Sites
Testing
- Getting ‘forever chemicals’ out of drinking water: EWG’s guide to PFAS water filters
- ‘Forever chemicals’ found in water coast to coast builds case for strict EPA limits
- Quibble with Kibbles: ‘Forever chemicals’ in pet food packaging add to perils at home
- New baby textile product tests show concerning levels of toxic ‘forever chemicals’
- Children’s Exposure to PFAS Chemicals Begins in the Womb
- Many Fast Food Wrappers Still Coated in PFCs, Kin to Carcinogenic Teflon Chemical
Peer Reviewed Studies
- Discussion. Has the human population become a sentinel for the adverse effects of PFAS contamination on wildlife health and endangered species?
- Locally caught freshwater fish across the United States are likely a significant source of exposure to PFOS and other perfluorinated compounds
EWG Experts
Two decades of work on PFAS have made the EWG the go-to public interest resource for the scope and human health impact of the contamination crisis. For press inquiries, please contact Monica Amarelo at [email protected].
- Ken Cook, President
- Scott Faber, Senior VP for Government Affairs
- Dave Andrews, Senior Scientist
- Tasha Stoiber, Senior Scientist
- Sydney Evans, Senior Science Analyst
The PFAS policy debate
EWG testimony
- Before the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works (May 22, 2019)
- Before the Environment Subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform (July 24, 2019)
- Before the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure (September 18, 2019
- Before the Environment Subcommittee on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (November 19, 2019)
- Before the Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on the House Energy and Commerce Committee (January 29, 2020)
- Before the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Subcommittee on the House Committee on Appropriations (March 11, 2020)
Articles
- It’s Time To Regulate Industrial Discharges of PFAS
- It’s Time To Designate PFAS as a Hazardous Substance
- It’s Time to Ban PFAS from Food Packaging
- It’s Time to Switch to PFAS-Free Firefighting Foams
- To Address PFAS Pollution, Congress Should Report, Reduce and Remediate
- The Case for Regulating All PFAS Chemicals as a Class (Opinion; Bloomberg)
- EPA takes important steps to curb ‘forever chemicals’ in water, but more needed
- EPA plan to curb industrial ‘forever chemicals’ discharges must go faster
- Groups Urge Immediate Action by EPA To Improve PFAS Disposal Guidance for Communities
- Congress shouldn’t create a polluter holiday for ‘forever chemicals’
- ‘Forever Chemicals’ Must Be Regulated as a Class
- It’s Time To Protect Firefighters From Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’
- It’s Time To End EPA’s Long History of Failing To Act on ‘Forever Chemicals’
- It’s Time To Ban PFAS from Food Packaging
- To Address PFAS Pollution, Congress Should Report, Reduce and Remediate
- It’s Time To Regulate Industrial Discharges of PFAS
- Products without intentionally added PFAS
Letters
- 22 State Attorneys General Urge Congress to Act on PFAS
- 15 Governors Urge Congress To Keep PFAS Provisions in Defense Bill
- 36 senators urge President Biden to provide funding to combat PFAS contamination
- Over 100 environmental organizations urges Administration officials and EPA to propose first-ever federal drinking water standards for some PFAS chemicals
- 84 environmental organizations urge the Biden Administration to classify PFOA and PFOS as "hazardous substances"
- 127 Representatives urge the EPA to designate two PFAS “forever chemicals” as hazardous substances
- 18 State Attorney Generals urge the senate majority and minority leaders to provide funding for PFAS related programs
PFAS in Investigative Journalism, Books and Films
Films
- The Devil We Know: The Chemistry of a Cover-Up (2018; documentary)
- Dark Waters (feature film to be released on Nov. 22, 2019)
- No Defense (2020; documentary)
- Bad Water. Small Towns. Deaf Ears. (2020; documentary)
- The Forever Chemicals (2020; documentary)
- Burned: Protecting the Protectors (2023; documentary)
- GENX: THE SAGA OF FOREVER CHEMICALS (documentary)
Books
- Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer's Twenty-Year Battle Against DuPont, by Rob Bilott
- Stain-Resistant, Nonstick, Waterproof, and Lethal: The Hidden Dangers of C8, by Callie Lyons
- Forever Chemicals: Environmental, Economic, and Social Equity Concerns with PFAS in the Environment edited by David M. Kempisty, LeeAnn Racz
- Understanding Risk to Wildlife from Exposures to Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances (PFAS) By Mark S. Johnson, Michael J. Quinn Jr., Marc A. Williams, Allison M. Narizzano
Investigative journalism
- Welcome to Beautiful Parkersburg, West Virginia, by Mariah Blake (Huffington Post, 2015)
- The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare, by Nathaniel Rich (The New York Times Magazine, 2016)
- "Bad Chemistry,” an ongoing series by Sharon Lerner in The Intercept
- The Teflon Toxin, Part 1: DuPont and the Chemistry of Deception (2015)
- The Teflon Toxin, Part 2: The Case Against DuPont (2015)
- The Teflon Toxin, Part 3: How DuPont Slipped Past the EPA (2015)
- Poisoning the Well: Toxic Firefighting Foam Has Contaminated U.S. Drinking Water (2015)
- New Teflon Toxin Causes Cancer in Lab Animals (2016)
- DuPont May Dodge Toxic Lawsuits by Pulling a Disappearing Act (2016)
- Under DuPont Bridge: The Teflon Toxin Goes to China (2016)
- New Teflon Toxin Found in North Carolina Drinking Water (2017)
- PFOA and PFOS Are Only the Best-Known Members of a Very Dangerous Class of Chemicals (2018)
- 3M Knew About the Dangers of PFOA and PFOS Decades Ago, Internal Documents Show (2018)
- EPA Continues to Approve Toxic PFAS Chemicals Despite Widespread Contamination (2018)
- 3M Knew About PFAS Food Contamination in 2001 (2019)
- Teflon Toxin Safety Level Should Be 700 Times Lower Than Current EPA Guideline (2019)