Stel Bailey | Investigative Journalist
BREVARD COUNTY, FL - On a humid afternoon in Brevard County, a group of volunteers kneels at the edge of the Indian River Lagoon. Buckets, gloves, and glass vials are carefully laid out, their purpose clear: to capture what the eye cannot see. With practiced motions, they dip into the water, sealing samples that may one day tell the story of contamination stretching from Florida’s coastal towns to the halls of Congress.
These residents are not career scientists. They are parents, anglers, retirees, and veterans, ordinary people turned investigators in a fight against some of the most insidious pollutants of our time: PFAS, the “forever chemicals.”
Science on the Edge of Safety
For decades, federal agencies have relied on an EPA health advisory that sets the limit for one of the most notorious PFAS compounds—PFOA—at 70 parts per trillion. But leading toxicologists argue that this number is dangerously high. Rat studies have linked PFOA exposure to pancreatic tumors, and some experts suggest the true safety limit should be as low as 0.1 parts per trillion.
The gap between what science warns and what regulators allow is staggering. And while the EPA’s current limit is unenforceable, the damage to human health and ecosystems is undeniable.
PFAS as a Class: One Fight, Many Chemicals
The National PFAS Contamination Coalition (NPCC), backed by 16 of the nation’s leading scientists, is pushing for PFAS to be managed as a single chemical class. Their peer-reviewed article in Environmental Science & Technology Letters makes the case: With more than 4,000 different PFAS compounds, trying to regulate them one by one is like trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon. A class-based approach is the only way to protect public health and the environment.
A Grassroots Movement Takes Root
In 2020, Fight For Zero partnered with the University of Florida on a three-year EPA-funded study to track PFAS contamination in the Indian River Lagoon. From Cocoa Beach sewage to South Patrick Shores soil, and even drinking water systems in Titusville, Melbourne, and Palm Bay, PFAS have turned up where families live, work, and play.
To meet the scale of the problem, the organization called on residents to join as citizen scientists. Volunteers receive training, sampling kits, and access to virtual workshops where they learn how to collect water, soil, and even fish tissue samples. Every week since 2021, these citizen scientists have taken surface water samples from the lagoon, the Banana River, and connecting waterways, building a body of evidence that tells a story of pollution no one can ignore.
Community Science Meets Real Change
This work is not happening in isolation. Fight For Zero has allied with organizations like the Ocean Research and Conservation Association (ORCA) to monitor toxins in fish and with EEARSS to support alligator toxicology research. Together, these groups are painting a fuller picture of how PFAS accumulate across species, water, and soil, and how they move during Florida’s increasingly violent storm events.
The data is vital. Each sample helps build a case for accountability and regulation. But the project is also about empowerment. Every resident who lowers a vial into the water becomes part of a movement, proving that communities do not have to wait for institutions to protect them; they can demand protection themselves.
A Call to Action
In June 2021, Fight For Zero hosted its first annual community conference to bring together scientists, activists, and residents to share findings and demand solutions. It was more than a meeting; it was a declaration that Brevard County would not remain silent.
“Forever chemicals” may persist in soil, water, and bloodstreams, but so does the determination of communities who refuse to accept poisoned waterways as normal. The fight against PFAS is not just about science. It is about justice—for our health, for our ecosystems, and for the generations who will inherit both.
For more information—or to become a citizen scientist—visit: fight4zero.org/ufproject
