Lobbyists Are Playing Both Sides of the PFAS Debate

By Helen Santoro | Jacobin | September 12, 2025

Read the full article by Helen Santoro (Jacobin)

"PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” are linked to a range of health risks. In California, some lobbyists fighting a bill that would ban PFAS in consumer products are also lobbying for another bill that would help remove the chemicals from the water supply.

Major lobbying firms are raking in millions while playing both sides of the lobbying debate on California’s PFAS regulation. Also known as “forever chemicals,” these extremely persistent human-made chemicals appear in clothing, cleaning products, cookware, and increasingly in human bodies and are linked to a wide range of health risks.

A new investigation has found that some of the same lobbyists fighting a bill that would ban PFAS in select consumer products are also lobbying for another bill that would help remove the chemicals from the water supply through a PFAS Mitigation Fund."