September 2022 Update: This bill has passed the California Assembly and Senate! We now need to make sure AB2247 is signed into law by Governor Newsom. Click here to send him a message today.
We know virtually everyone has PFAS in their bodies. We know that testing has detected these toxic chemicals in drinking water sources serving 16 million Californians. We know PFAS can be in our air, our soil, our food, and our homes and workplaces. But we don’t know a lot about how they enter the state so we struggle to manage them. That’s why we need to pass AB 2247 (Bloom) and require anyone importing a product into California that contains PFAS to report it.
PFAS have contaminated the drinking water sources of over 16 million Californians, are linked to serious disease, and are spreading in our air and food supplies. Furthermore, they never break down in the environment, making them “forever” chemicals. That’s why the international science community is calling for the eradication of PFAS use except in very essential situations.
Sadly, manufacturing sector lobbyists are using the same tactics used to deny climate change and the dangers of smoking. They are spreading disinformation by claiming that not all PFAS are toxic or persist in the environment, despite overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary. They say that reporting requirements are a burden and unnecessary. That we should just trust them that their products are safe.
Sound familiar?
We can’t afford “PFAS deniers” to continue to poison California.
AB 2247 doesn’t ban anything. It simply provides a way to understand how PFAS enter the state so we can make informed decisions about when to restrict them and how to keep them out of our environment. Information is key for everyone, whether they be regulators and legislators, businesses seeking to make safer products, water agencies acting to stop pollution at the source, or consumers working to protect their families. But while the number of PFAS on the market continues to grow (EPA estimates there are over 12,000 now), our understanding of where and how they are used is lessening. AB 2247 offers the solution by creating a publicly accessible database of all products containing PFAS entering California. Everybody wins – except industries that don’t want you to know they are using toxic chemicals.
AB 2247 has passed the Assembly, and now we need the Senate to step up.
Your senator needs to know we won't let them buy into "fake news" from lobbyists denying the damage toxic PFAS chemicals are causing to public health and our environment. Take action and tell your California senator to put people before polluter profit. Let's pass AB 2247 now!
Click here to ask Governor Newsom to sign AB 2247
Click here to read more on tackling PFAS pollution in California
