Toxic Chemicals

From before we are born until the time we die, we are repeatedly and regularly exposed to toxic chemicals with the potential to seriously harm our health. Toxic chemicals can be found in our homes, schools and workplaces – in products we use on a daily basis. We're fighting at local, state, and federal levels to fix our chemical laws and find safer alternatives to the chemicals in everyday products.

Photo: Suzanne Tucker, shutterstock.com
Maryland

Protect Baltimore from dangerous pesticides!

Clean Water Action has worked for years to reduce the use of dangerous pesticides in Maryland.

Protect Baltimore from dangerous pesticides!

Recent Actions

California

Tell Governor Newsom: Take On PFAS!

Poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, are a class of almost 5,000 man-made chemicals that pose a serious threat to public health and the environment:

Take Action!
Rhode Island

Tell legislators to keep toxic chemicals like PFAS out of our food packaging!

PFAS or per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances can be toxic to humans and yet they are found in our food packaging (pizza boxes, bakery paper, microwave popcorn bags, and more).

PFAS been linked to:

Take Action! Tell legislators to keep toxic chemicals like PFAS out of our food packaging.
Minnesota

Tell Best Buy: Get Flame Retardants Out of Your TVs

The Trump Administration is leaving American families vulnerable by stalling work to ban chemicals called organohalogen flame retardants in TV plastic casi

Sign now!
Massachusetts

Get Toxic PFAS out of food packaging

When you walk into Albertsons or one of its subsidiary grocery stores, like Safeway, VONS, Jewel-Osco, Acme or Shaw’s, you expect the products on the shelves to be safe.

Take action now!

Related Toxic Chemicals Topics

Toxic Chemicals Publications

Toxic Chemicals Blog Posts

Firefighters using PFAS fire fighting foam
PFAS in CT: From the Streets to the State House
July 2, 2020

Canvassing on the streets of central Connecticut after the PFAS spills last summer, community members supplied an abundance of energy and motivation that lead to fantastic steps toward protecting our communities from PFAS chemicals. 

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PFAS, the “forever chemicals” made simple
June 26, 2020

In our work at Clean Water Action we throw around a lot of statistics and chemical names which, if you’re not used to hearing them, all sound pretty much like “ethyl-methyl-bad-stuff.” Sometimes that’s really all you need to know: “there’s something bad there – stay away.” 

But one group of chemicals you really should know about is PFAS, aka “Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances”, aka “the forever chemicals.” To keep it simple, we’ve boiled down the facts for you in this handy infographic. Check it out!

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Do We Really Need This? Reflections on COVID19 and PFAS Chemicals
June 16, 2020

During the past three months of stay-at-home time, obtaining “things” took on new complications. I’ve found that I don’t really need all the items that might pop into my head. “Do I really need this?” is a daily question. This came to mind last week as we commented to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on regulating PFAS chemicals in drinking water (See here for background on these chemicals and drinking water challenges.).

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