Read the full article by Bianca Sanchez (Sierra Club)
“The Middleborough Select Board has approved a resolution requiring the city to avoid, when possible, the purchase or use of products containing fluorinated chemicals including perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, called PFAS or ‘forever chemicals.’ This marks the third municipal resolution against purchasing products with PFAS in Massachusetts, following Newton and Brookline. The resolution was championed by Sustainable Middleborough and Citizens for a Healthy Middleborough, with support from Sierra Club Massachusetts.
Often used in consumer products, especially plastics, PFAS are a class of synthetic chemicals known to have many serious health impacts. Some of the health impacts associated with PFAS exposure include: various cancers, damage to the immune systems, liver, thyroid, or pancreatic function, and complications at birth and impairments in children.
‘Forever’ PFAS chemicals do not fully break down in the environment. Instead, PFAS contaminates the air, waterways, and even food. Massachusetts is heavily contaminated with PFAS pollution. At least 171 public water systems in 96 cities and towns, and many private wells, have exceeded the state’s legal limit (Maximum Contaminant Level) for PFAS.” …