BOSTON – A broad coalition of public health, consumer, municipal, environmental and community organizations along with academics, scientists and firefighters urged lawmakers to protect our drinking water and our health from toxic chemicals at a State House hearing today.

Testifying before the legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Health, the advocates and members of the public urged the committee to act quickly to pass the Act to protect Massachusetts public health from PFAS (H2450 & S1504) filed by state Sen. Julian Cyr (Provincetown) and state Rep. Kate Hogan (Stow).  The bill would phase out per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in many products, cut industrial discharges of PFAS; and set up a fund to help communities test and treat PFAS in drinking water, soil, and groundwater. 

PFAS are a class of man-made chemicals that are used in many consumer products and industrial applications. They are  toxic even at very low level exposure. PFAS increase the risk of developing cancers, immunosuppression, liver disease, and developmental and reproductive illnesses.

Read the full release.