A nationwide campaign to limit and roll back state and federal regulation of chemicals known as PFAS or “forever chemicals” is being led by chemical industry lobbyists who also lobby on behalf local governments, schools, nonprofits, and other clients being harmed by PFAS, finds a new report from F Minus and Mothers Out Front. The report comes as the Environmental Protection Agency is moving to eliminate some Biden-era limits on PFAS in drinking water, and lobbyists for the American Chemistry Council are supporting the federal pre-emption of most state PFAS regulations.
The report includes case studies of conflicted PFAS lobbying firms in California, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Maine, and is accompanied by a new F Minus database of Congressional and state PFAS lobbyists.
Key findings:
- 132 local governments and government agencies such as water districts share lobbying firms with PFAS lobbyists, including the cities of Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. Local governments face substantial future PFAS clean-up costs, some of which may be passed on to their residents in the form of higher taxes or utility rates.
- 26 hospitals and health care systems share lobbying firms with trade associations who oppose PFAS regulations, as do several cancer organizations, including the American Cancer Society, Roswell Park Cancer Institute in New York, and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Washington State. A 2025 study by the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California estimated that PFAS in drinking was responsible for up to 6,800 cancer cases a year in the U.S.
- 11 public school systems in areas with PFAS-contaminated water share lobbying firms with chemical companies and trade associations who’re leading the fight against legislation banning and regulating PFAS. Young children are at high risk for developing health problems from PFAS exposure. Four of these public school systems are in Michigan.
- 15 wildlife conservation groups share lobbying firms with trade associations opposed to PFAS regulation. Sharing lobbyists with the American Chemistry Council are the Marine Mammal Center in California, Salmon For All in Oregon, and the League of Conservation Voters in New York. PFAS are an endocrine disruptor and have been linked to lower wildlife fertility rates.
- In California, three lobbying firms lobbied for local water districts in support of a 2025 bill (SB 682) that would have banned PFAS in some consumer products, while simultaneously lobbying against the bill on behalf of clients whose products contain PFAS. Two of these firms opposed the ban while supporting the creation of a different bill creating a privately-funded PFAS clean-up fund.
- In New York, PFAS lobbyists opposed to a proposed ban on PFAS in some cookware (S.187) also lobby for cancer organizations and hospitals, despite the demonstrated risks of cancer from PFAS exposure.
- In Maryland, Prince George’s County is suing 3M over PFAS contamination of County waterways, even as Prince George’s County Schools and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission share a lobbying firm with the American Chemistry Council. In Maine, the Portland Water District has joined a multistate lawsuit against PFAS manufacturers, even as it shares a lobbying firm with the Cookware Sustainability Alliance, a trade association opposed to many state PFAS regulations.
“The debate over how to protect people from the health risks from PFAS, and help communities deal with the costs of PFAS pollution, is being dominated by lobbying firms who are effectively playing both sides of the issue,” said James Browning, Executive Director of F Minus. “Local governments, schools, nonprofits, and other clients who represent populations being harmed by PFAS can shift the balance of power by calling on these firms to cut ties with their PFAS clients, or by cutting ties with these firms. Don’t get stuck in a forever relationship with a lobbyist for forever chemicals.”
“Forever chemicals are linked to cancer, and they’re in our children’s drinking water. The chemical industry is spending millions to block protections through the same lobbyists our school districts hire to represent our families. Mothers and caregivers connected the dots. Now we need local leaders to do the same, cut ties with firms lobbying for the chemical industry, and put our kids’ health first.” said Jennifer Zimmer, Co-Executive Director of Mothers Out Front.
“Women—and especially Black women—face disproportionate health risks from toxic exposure, maternal mortality, and environmentally linked cancers,” said Jasmine Banks of Parenting Is Political. “The story of PFAS risks is not only about chemistry or public health. It is also about power, and yes structural racism—and the institutions that profit from both harm and the appearance of helping to fix it.”
F Minus also released a statement signed by 32 organizations that calls on local governments to cut ties with lobbying firms that lobby for the American Chemistry Council.