On October 18, 2021, EPN released a media advisory in response to EPA’s three-year strategic roadmap to regulate PFAS and restrict their use. PFAS pose significant risks to people’s immune, reproductive, and hormonal systems; affect liver enzymes; raise cholesterol levels; and increase risks of kidney and testicular cancer, among other health effects. They are known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down and remain present in the human body. EPN members Betsy Southerland, former Director of the Office of Science and Technology in EPA’s Office of Water, and Mustafa Santiago Ali, Vice President of Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization for the National Wildlife Federation; former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization; and former EPA Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, believe EPA’s PFAS Roadmap is an essential first step to protect public health and the environment.
Read the media advisory.