COCOA BEACH, FL. – From the Great Lakes to the Southeast coast, community leaders living with contaminated drinking water are speaking out against what they call inadequate protections from toxic PFAS chemicals. This week, more than 40 grassroots groups united to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed cleanup goals, warning that the standards fall short of safeguarding public health, especially for infants and young children.
For decades, families across the country have unknowingly consumed water laced with PFAS, often called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment. Now, with new scientific evidence linking these compounds to cancer, thyroid disease, pregnancy complications, and other health crises, residents are demanding stronger action.
“The Agency’s proposal is not protective of human health, particularly infants, children, and expectant mothers,” the joint letter states, pointing to overlooked risks such as placental and breast milk transfer. “Generations could bear the burden of exposure.”
A Growing Body of Evidence
PFAS, used to make products resistant to water, grease, and stains, are not just an abstract chemical threat. They accumulate in the body and the environment, and the list of illnesses associated with them grows every year. Despite this, the EPA’s proposal would set groundwater cleanup levels for two of the most notorious PFAS chemicals, PFOA and PFOS, at levels critics say ignore real-world exposure and lived realities.
“As communities impacted by PFAS contamination, we object to standards rooted in outdated and discredited advisories,” residents wrote, underscoring that the EPA’s calculations assume a clean slate of exposure that simply doesn’t exist in communities already poisoned for decades.
A Public Reckoning
The timing is urgent. Today marks the final chance for the public to weigh in on the EPA’s interim recommendations under federal cleanup programs such as Superfund. Community members say the stakes couldn’t be higher.
“EPA’s institutional failure is plain when compared to the lower limits set by many states that recognize infants’ larger intake rates and the biological activity of these chemicals at extremely low levels,” advocates emphasized. “These failures hit hardest in communities already stretched thin, where resilience is tested every day.”
Voices from the Frontlines
What makes this protest stand out is the breadth of participation: residents and local leaders from 14 states, stretching from Alaska to Florida, New Mexico to New Hampshire, have come together to call for standards rooted in health, not convenience. These are not policy experts in distant offices, but parents worried about the safety of tap water, neighbors noticing rising cancer cases, and citizens holding federal agencies accountable.
In Wisconsin, for example, residents near a former military site have been fighting for years to secure safe water after discovering PFAS contamination linked to defense operations. In Michigan, community leaders have pressed for more transparent testing and medical monitoring, while in North Carolina, residents still struggle with a lack of clean alternatives.
Their stories reveal a pattern: when federal agencies delay or downplay the risks, it is everyday families who carry the cost, in their wallets, in their health, and in their futures.
A Demand for Justice
At its heart, this is not only a scientific or regulatory debate, but also a fight for environmental justice. Vulnerable communities, often those with fewer resources to navigate prolonged battles with government agencies and corporations, shoulder the heaviest burden.
The collective message from impacted neighborhoods is clear: EPA must do better. Cleanup standards must reflect the science, honor the lived experiences of those already harmed, and put protection of the most vulnerable at the center of decision-making.