Letter To Assemblymembers
To date, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been detected in drinking water supplies serving 16 million Californians, and that number is expected to rise as more testing is done. That, along with the ubiquity of PFAS in consumer and industrial products, has resulted in virtually all Californians having the chemicals in their bodies.
Very low doses of PFAS chemicals in drinking water have been linked to suppression of the immune system, interference with vaccines, and are associated with an elevated risk of cancer, increased cholesterol, and reproductive and developmental harms, among other serious health concerns. That is why I’m asking you to support, and even co-author a suite of bills this year – AB 2247 (Bloom), AB 1817 (Ting), and AB 2771 (Friedman).
It has become clear that we cannot treat our way out of our PFAS problem given that these chemicals do not break down (or break down into other toxic PFAS), move through the environment easily, and accumulate in our bodies and other living things. Treatment itself is complex and expensive, as is management of the PFAS that we remove from the environment. Consequently, pollution prevention will be a key strategy for managing PFAS. But we cannot do so without knowing how much PFAS are imported into the state and how they are used.
AB 2247 will ensure that manufacturers have to report their PFAS use to the state, and the bill will create a modest, but straightforward, method for the state to manage this information. This is a key first step to understanding and ultimately managing PFAS contamination in California.
AB 1817, which will ban PFAS in clothing and household textiles, and AB 2771, which bans the chemicals in cosmetics, build on the Legislature’s leadership in pollution prevention by limiting their use in significant exposure routes. Not only are Californians exposed by using or living with these products, but they contaminate soil, water, and air when they are rinsed down the drain, laundered, or disposed of in landfills. Both textiles and cosmetics are major sources of PFAS contamination and many leading companies including Levi’s, Gap, H&M, Puma, Keen, Osprey, Patagonia, Jack Wolfskin, IKEA, and Zara have already either eliminated or made commitments to eliminate PFAS in their products. It's time to require the rest of the industries to phase out PFAS as well.
As your constituent, I ask you to please protect the health of your constituents and our environment by supporting AB 2247, AB 1817, and AB 2771, not only with your vote, but by signing on as a co-author.
Thank you for your consideration.