Following the Chemicals: Documenting PFAS Contamination in Southern Communities

By Jala Everett | Frontline | February 21, 2026

Read the full article by Jala Everett (Frontline)

“Among us are tasteless, colorless, odorless chemicals, known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS for short. Used widely in household products for their stain-, water- and heat-resistant properties, PFAS are known as forever chemicals because they can take decades or more to break down.

They’re also found in our bodies, homes and drinking water. Research has linked exposure to the chemicals to an increased risk of serious health issues.

How did PFAS, once used in popular stain-resistant carpets, contaminate the water and environment in parts of Georgia and Alabama? That’s what a multiplatform collaboration supported by FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative set out to investigate. With The Associated Press, journalists in local newsrooms at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Post and Courier and AL.com reviewed thousands of pages of court records and interviewed scientists, former regulators and industry insiders along with residents in Georgia and Alabama with illnesses linked to PFAS contamination."

This content provided by the PFAS Project.