Read the full study by Jared Hayes and Tasha Stoiber (EWG)
“Suspected industrial dischargers of the toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS are located less than a mile of 27 schools or childcare facilities that maintain their own water systems, an EWG analysis finds.
Schools or childcare facilities in 18 states, including Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, were located within 5,000 feet of manufacturers that are known or suspected of producing or using PFAS.
In April, EWG used EPA and state data to identify 2,501 unique industrial sites that are known to produce or use PFAS, or that are suspected of using PFAS. We matched that list with the locations of schools nearby.
Under the Clean Water Act, there are no federal restrictions on industrial PFAS discharges. So far, only a few states have taken action to implement these types of policy changes. Michigan, for example, has adopted restrictions that reduce PFAS discharges to rivers and lakes. States can also impose restrictions on certain dischargers on a case-by-case basis, as North Carolina has done at a Chemours facility in Fayetteville.
Studies have shown that PFAS may suppress the immune system, including reduced response to vaccines, and are associated with cancer and reproductive and developmental harms, among other health problems…”