PFAS: Water Quality and Novel Pollutants

Largely unregulated for the duration of their existence, these chemicals are now known to cause a range of health impacts on living beings, even in small amounts. 

PFAS have been found in municipal drinking water across the U.S. and in the blood of nearly every person on the planet.

PFAS pose a particularly complex set of interrelated governance puzzles: they are a huge and ever-evolving class of several thousand chemicals, ubiquitous in their use, with multiple pathways of human exposure such as through drinking water. 

PFAS are highly persistent and bio accumulative. While evidence suggests we have all been exposed, PFAS exposure is exacerbated in vulnerable communities that face a suite of contamination threats. 

Assistant Professor Gemma Smith leads the PFAS Governance research group at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy. 

This group is focused on understanding the unique challenges that arise in governing this complex and widespread class of chemicals in our water systems, including themes of fragmented authority, unequal impacts, and political polarization. 

The group also seeks to identify potential pathways forward in improving PFAS governance and policy, exploring opportunities for leadership and collaboration from the local to the international level.