I am quite ecstatic that the PFAS Action Act of 2021 was passed this week. Our politicians, with bipartisan cooperation, have recognized a threat that needs to be taken care as soon as possible, and have taken steps to expedite change. The act is something that will propagate massive changes that will ultimately benefit the welfare of the American people greatly.
The act not only tackles the problem at the consumer level, but also at the industrial level. By aiming to limit the pollution of our waterways with PFAS, we can not only decimate the amount of PFAS that gets into our bodies to cause harm, but also protect our environment.
On the industrial side, this act is not too harsh on manufacturing corporations. This act does not outright ban PFAS, but seeks to prevent its leakage into water specifically. This will coerce corporations into slowly reducing, if not outright eliminating, their PFAS production.
However, there are some criticisms regarding the act, mostly from Republicans. Representative Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA) called the act, “overwhelming, heavy-handed, and unscientific” in addition to being “aggressive expansion of federal power.” I wholeheartedly disagree with this statement. Representative Rogers is blowing this act out of proportion with her words. This act is the complete opposite of what she is saying. This act is light-handed and scientific. It does not force industrial corporations to outright stop using PFAS. What the bill is looking to accomplish is to make PFAS more regulated, which the government has done multiple times in the past with other controlled substances,
Additionally, it should be noted that the largest financial contributor to Representative Rogers’ campaign through a period of 17 years ($150,539) is a company called Nelson Irrigation, which sells agricultural irrigation equipment. Irrigation water has been viewed with interest when it comes to PFAS, since it can increase the amount of PFAS present in soil. Therefore, Representative Rogers has an incentive to speak out against this bill.
(screenshot from opensecrets.com, link is in sources)
When all is said and done, I hope that at the very minimum, this act will make the regulations regarding PFAS more defined, instead of being a patchwork of confusing laws at the state level.
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