WESTERN MASS. – On July 14, Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester District state Sen. Jo Comerford and Massachusetts Second District Congressman Jim McGovern hosted a Facebook Live discussion about Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

McGovern started the conversation and said it is time the government takes a more serious look at restricting PFAS chemicals.

“I have been working on this issue for quite some time; PFAS are called forever chemicals and they can be found in an array of products we use everyday and there are some serious health issues we need to be concerned about and it is time the government steps up,” he said.

Himaja Nagireddy, who served as the moderator for the discussion, started her presentation by saying that approximately 98 percent of Americans have PFAS in their blood according to research from the Environmental Working Group.

“According to EWG, 98 is the estimated percentage of Americans who have PFAS in their blood. I put up this statistic because I think it frames the importance and the urgency of this issue,” she said.

Dr. David Reckhow, a research professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said the effects of PFAS can be devastating to people.

“The basic concern is human health and even in low levels in our drinking water and soil. The list includes various forms of cancer, thyroid changes, hormonal changes, obesity, liver malfunction, elevated cholesterol, colitis, immunotoxicity and reproductive effects,” he said.

Reckhow explained that PFAS can be found in food packaging, cosmetics, and many other items we bring into our homes.

“We are bringing these into our homes in a variety of ways including food packaging, fabric coating agents, non-stick coating and products and even some cosmetics,” he said.

He added that PFAS also comes from industrial sources such as airports along with secondary sources like landfills and municipal wastewater.

Based on research he is currently doing, Reckhow said in Massachusetts, 17 percent of water supplies have detectable levels of PFAS while about 37 percent of personal wells have detectable levels.

“The bad news is that about 17 percent have detectable levels and even worse is that five percent are above the state standard. For private wells 37 percent show measurable levels of PFAS which is 7 percent above the state standard,” he said.

Reckhow added that the study was not complete so the final numbers may change.

Maureo Fernández y Mora, the associate state director for Clean Water Action Massachusetts, said it is necessary to ban PFAS.

“It is terrifying to learn that these chemicals that are so pervasive, long-lasting and dangerous are in your drinking water. I really want to drive home that if we do not want PFAS in drinking water then we need to ban PFAS period because in some way or another we all live downstream from PFAS contamination,” he said.

Deirdre Cummings, the legislative director of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, said moving forward there are several actions that need to be taken to address the PFAS problem.

“What we really need to do to protect public health is we need to stop using PFAS in all these consumer products. Second, we need to identify and clean up the existing contamination. Third, we need to care for those who are affected. And lastly, we need to make those responsible pay for the cleanup costs,” she said.

Comerford concluded her thoughts on PFAS by calling for residents across the state to speak out against PFAS.

“I want to echo the call for individual advocacy. We have academics and advocates ready to bring the change to Massachusetts and nationally, but each of you watching now has the power that we can harness to make the changes we need,” she said.