Toxic chemicals surround us—in our air, water, homes, and workplaces. Many chemicals used in everyday products, like plastics, cosmetics, toys, and furniture, increase the risk of serious illnesses.
Clean Water Action is working to reduce toxic chemicals in our homes, workplaces and communities. We are asking Massachusetts authorities to:
Passionate about our toxics work? Join our team of toxics activists in Massachusetts: the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow.
Clean Water Action is working with our allies at Toxic-Free Future to hold large retailers accountable for carrying products made with toxic chemicals. We recently celebrated a huge victory when REI agreed to phase-out the sale of products containing toxic PFAS at their stores!
At the close of the 2024 legislative session, we worked with our allies to secure passage of legislation protecting firefighters from toxic PFAS chemcals. An Act relative to the reduction of certain toxic chemicals in firefighter personal protective equipment bans the manufacture, sale, and distribution of PFAS-containing personal protective equipment as of January 1, 2027. Starting in 2025, the bill also requires manufacturers to disclose, at point of sale, whether protective equipment contains PFAS.
In 2020-2021, Clean Water Action coordinated a state-wide effort to get Massachusetts leaders to address PFAS, a set of chemicals that have contaminated water, soil, and air throughout our state. Clean Water Action successfully got strong recommendations into the state’s PFAS Interagency Task Force report. The Massachusetts Attorney General filed a lawsuit against PFAS manufacturers, and Massachusetts added PFAS to the state’s list of Toxic and Hazardous Chemicals.
In 2021, Clean Water Action won a big victory when the Massachusetts Legislature passed a law banning 11 dangerous flame retardants and giving the state the authority to restrict the use of additional flame retardants.
