On December 1st, eleven local water districts filed a lawsuit on PFAS manufacturers seeking hundreds of millions of dollars. These eleven water districts filed this lawsuit because they believe that the PFAS manufactures are responsible for the clean-up costs of the chemicals found in our water. Two examples of manufactures that these eleven local water districts are seeking money from are 3M and DuPont. 

     The company DuPont, as stated in the paragraph above, has been accused of being responsible for the chemicals found in the water. However, Dan Turner (DuPont’s spokesman) denied that his company had been responsible for this. According to ocregister.com, Turner had sent a statement via email. He sent, “DuPont de Nemours has never made or sold PFOA, PFOS or other perfluorinated compounds in California, or elsewhere. These complaints are the latest example of DuPont being improperly named in litigation, and we look forward to vigorously defending our position.”

     The chemicals found in the water (PFAS) are per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances. These substances are threats since they are highly toxic chemicals that contaminate our drinking water. Not only do they contaminate our drinking water, but they have developmental and immunological effects on humans and animals. They are related to many severe illnesses, such as reproductive disorders and cancers. The PFAS toxins include two different compound regulators. According to ocregister.com, these compound regulators are PFOA and PFOS. The two of these are also linked to many serious health issues including cancer, liver damage, kidney damage, etc. 

     The exposure to the PFAS found in our water could have occurred through several different things. As stated in health.ri.gov, “Exposure to PFAS could occur through: public water systems and drinking water wells, soil, and outdoor air near industrial areas with frequent PFAS manufacture, disposal, or use.” This highlights the different ways in which the harmful substances could’ve been exposed.

   In conclusion, we need to make sure we keep our water clean. If we keep letting these chemicals enter our drinking water, there will be a lot more safety hazards. Drinking water with lots of PFAS in it might seriously affect our health.