FACT: “Forever chemicals” are contaminating Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River fish and our local waterways. PFAS, the general acronym describing a class of thousands of chemicals that don’t break down, were found in 100% of NNY waterways that we tested last year. Now, a national study just released this week found extremely high levels in freshwater fish, with the most contamination found in the Great Lakes region. The producers of these chemicals and regulators both know that forever chemicals are a significant threat to the health of our waterways, our drinking water and our families. These health implications and complex chemistry of these chemicals are similar to that of DDT, PCBs and mercury in the 1970s. The difference is those chemicals were regulated and are still being removed from our environment, but conversely, PFAS chemicals are not. https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news-release/2023/01/ewg-study-eating-one-freshwater-fish-equals-month-drinking
ACT: We are learning more every day about the impact of these chemicals on our local ecosystems and will keep you informed with the best information we have, while advocating for stricter regulation of these forever chemicals. Learn more about what PFAS chemicals are and where they come from in Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper’s blog post here: https://bnwaterkeeper.org/pfas-pfoa-pfos/, and contact our US Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, our Congressional Representatives, and state leaders to let them know that we need federal and state action now!