Known as "forever chemicals" and the "Devil's Piss," PFAS are a group of toxic chemicals harming our bodies.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
In Fall 2021, a couple Soapbox Seattle friends and our founder, Nivi, were hanging out at a local farmers market. They figured it’d be a good way to catch some sunshine and good vibes and great food while supporting local businesses.
As soon as they walked in, they were greeted by an organizer from Toxic Free Future who asked them if they're concerned about the environment. She was at the right place at the right time 😉
Aya told us about this thing called PFAS. It’s basically in EVERYTHING (especially in the USA) and causes well-documented health and environmental problems. The climate movement often revolves around similar, high-visibility challenges like consumption and transport, but it’s time to talk about toxic chemicals.
Here’s what we’ll cover step-by-step:
Spoiler alert and fun fact: John Oliver is on our side.
🎯 Action step 1 of 4: READ — Let's start by looking at a few articles together.
These articles on PFAS / forever chemicals are coming to you Q&A style, based on the Qs we had and the As we found. The two key articles we're sharing below are from NatGeo explaining PFAS and FIGO’s fact sheet on PFAS’s effects on women and pregnancy.
Q: What the heck are PFAS?
A: PFAS is short for poly and perfluoroalkyl substances. It’s a class of more than 4,000 different chemicals and it’s in everything from household items, fast food wrappers, our blood, breast milk, and more.
Q: Why should I care about PFAS? Sounds obscure and boring.
A: It is actually not obscure, despite its confusing name. It’s been used in commercial products since the 1940s since it’s created by joining carbon and fluorine, one of the strongest bonds that can be made in organic chemistry. We should care because it’s linked to cancer, birth defects, thyroid disease, liver damage, etc. Yikes!
Q: Who is affected by PFAS?
A: Short answer? Everyone. Longer answer: people who live in PFAS producing plants, including many firefighters. As you can imagine, lower-income people especially in the United States suffer higher levels of exposure, and this is a huge deal especially for breastfeeding mothers. The reason we're drawing attention to the United States is the country’s total lack of PFAS regulation, at least until the 2020s.
Q: What happens if I eat a PFAS?
A: So, you most likely will, alas. PFAS is called a forever chemical because it can take decades to exit the body.
Q: Oh god! This sounds horrible. What should we do?
A: Here’s some good news! PFAS is stepping up in relevancy on a global scale, and legislators in the USA are finally taking action, setting an important standard for safe product manufacturing. Washington just passed a law tackling PFAS by 2025, the fastest timeline in the nation! More good news is that Europe seems to be taking this seriously. Also, of course, take action via this Action Pack 😜
🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 1 of 4: READ.
🎯 Action step 2 of 4: LISTEN — we'll watch a short video or listen to a podcast to further expand on our topic.
PFAS is a class of “forever chemicals” that’s linked to cancer and various other health issues. It affects everyone and it’s apparently also known as the Devil’s Piss?!
In fact, John Oliver and this video is a huge reason why Devil's Piss has emerged out of obscurity into pop culture. Although most of us still have no clue about it.
You'll learn that:
Last important thing: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States largely allows chemical companies to regulate themselves, which obviously, they won’t. So take a few minutes to be righteously angry and keep reading. You’ll find some solutions for turning your feelings into meaningful change.
🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 2 of 4: LISTEN.
🎯 Action step 3 of 4: ACT — Now it's time to do something. Let's go!
Let’s highlight four simple actions you can take to advocate against toxic chemicals, which affects every part of our society. We shouldn’t have to worry about this! So policy advocacy is 🔑. We'll also give you some resources as a consumer so you can be as safe as you can (it’s sort of an impossible maze, but we gotta look out for ourselves where we can, especially for people with children).
1. Bookmark this PFAS-free list.
We are SO grateful for whoever spent time assembling this, and we're simultaneously shocked at how many categories of things in our lives contain PFAS. We were also shocked that cosmetics can contain PFAS. And it’s kinda bleak that there’s only one stroller listed on here.
2. Donate $25 to Toxic Free Future.
This organization has done some incredible work like getting Starbucks to phase out PFAS in all products.
3. Reduce toxic chemicals in baby food.
100% of the breast milk samples (you know, baby food) tested in a peer-reviewed study contained toxic PFAS, and these detections are doubling at an alarming rate. Toxic Free Future has this pre-filled email template you can send to the Department of Ecology in the United States (the country PFAS legislation needs to come from).
4. Buy a reverse osmosis filter.
The list linked above has some options in USD. Acccording to Treehugger, reverse osmosis and two-stage filters are effective at removing toxic PFAS from your drinking water. (Yep, it’s in our drinking water.) We're pleasantly surprised that there are options under $200, and this isn’t as expensive as we'd anticipated. We really hope that those of you with the financial means to get one of these does so. It shouldn’t be on us, but we want you and your families to enjoy safe drinking water. A thought—if you’re able to afford a high-quality water filter, consider donating the same amount to Toxic Free Future.
Action #3 is an easy starter if you’ve wanted to take policy action but have been overwhelmed by the process.There also has been some info coming out about reverse osmosis stripping water of nutrients. Proceed with caution / weigh your options when it comes to safe drinking water.
🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 3 of 4: ACT.
Before we go any further, it's time for you to pledge your commitment. It takes less than 30 seconds to pledge and we can bother you about it in a friendly way, so we can hold each other accountable. Pledge here!
🎯 Action step 4 of 4: REFLECT — what can you commit to? What fresh perspectives can we look at?
Hear us out—watch the movie Dark Waters ASAP. Mark Ruffalo and Anne Hathaway star in this based-on-a-true-story movie about how a chemical company, DuPont, is poisoning waterways and people. Sound familiar?
And as a reminder, bookmark this list of PFAS-free products so you and your family stay as healthy as possible.
One thing to reiterate: there is a role for everyone in the climate movement. Yes, we need to decarbonize quickly by divesting from fossil fuels. Yes, we need more artists to make hopeful visions of the future. Yes, we need to have conversations on keeping our babies healthy as we build this world together. So whether it’s PFAS or something else, I hope you’re inspired to pick something and take action.
🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 4 of 4: REFLECT.
Check out our membership community for more resources like free weekly events with social justice experts, sustainable product discounts, pre-written email templates, a social impact job board, and in-person hangouts with new friends. Thanks for taking action with Soapbox Project!
Get our free bite-sized climate action plans before you go!