A "Letter to the Editor" written by Caitlin Rissmiller for the Eagle Tribune.
To the Editor:
The Seaside Advocacy Initiatives and Legislation team at Seaside Sustainability congratulates Attorney General Maura Healey for her work in targeting companies who produce firefighting foam that has been treated with PFAS. Per and Polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are dangerous forever chemicals found in many products across the globe. They are incredibly harmful and are known to cause cancer, harm to the immune system, and other diseases.
At Seaside, we have worked to end the use of these chemicals, and we are elated to see progress being made in our home state. However, the work to permanently ban all uses of PFAS cannot stop with this congratulatory letter. We urge legislators to support and pass bills H2348 and S1397, which will ban PFAS from food packaging and consumer products as well as bills H2475 and S1576, which will ban PFAS from firefighter protective gear.
Readers, we urge you to contact your local legislators using this tool and make them aware of the seriousness of the effects of PFAS on our communities. The fight against PFAS must come from a united front, and we at Seaside Sustainability hope that readers and legislators alike will see the need for further PFAS legislation.
Caitlin Rissmiller
Gloucester