Protecting Our Health from Toxic Chemicals in Massachusetts

Toxic chemicals surround us—in our air, water, homes, and workplaces. Many chemicals used in everyday products, like plastics, cosmetics, toys,  and furniture, increase the risk of serious illnesses.  

Clean Water Action is working to reduce toxic chemicals in our homes, workplaces and communities. We are asking Massachusetts authorities to:

• Ban toxic PFAS chemicals from consumer products (view a fact sheet on legislation that was proposed for 2023-24);
• Support Massachusetts communities that have been impacted by elevated rates of PFAS in their drinking water
• Require companies that manufacture, sell or distribute children’s products to disclose whether those products include toxic chemicals. Require manufacturers to eliminate the most toxic chemicals from children’s products.
• Press supermarkets and big box retailers to get toxic products off their store shelves.
• Ensure that Massachusetts addresses the risks associated with the emerging nanotechnology sector.

The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow

Passionate about our toxics work? Join our team of toxics activists in Massachusetts: the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow.

Mind the Store Campaign

Clean Water Action is working with our allies at Toxic-Free Future to hold large retailers accountable for carrying products made with toxic chemicals. We recently celebrated a huge victory when REI agreed to phase-out the sale of products containing toxic PFAS at their stores!

• Read our press release.
• Learn more about PFAS here.

Recent victories!

At the close of the 2024 legislative session, we worked with our allies to secure passage of legislation protecting firefighters from toxic PFAS chemcals. An Act relative to the reduction of certain toxic chemicals in firefighter personal protective equipment bans the manufacture, sale, and distribution of PFAS-containing personal protective equipment as of January 1, 2027. Starting in 2025, the bill also requires manufacturers to disclose, at point of sale, whether protective equipment contains PFAS. 

In 2020-2021, Clean Water Action coordinated a state-wide effort to get Massachusetts leaders to address PFAS, a set of chemicals that have contaminated water, soil, and air throughout our state. Clean Water Action successfully got strong recommendations into the state’s PFAS Interagency Task Force report. The Massachusetts Attorney General filed a lawsuit against PFAS manufacturers, and Massachusetts added PFAS to the state’s list of Toxic and Hazardous Chemicals.

In 2021, Clean Water Action won a big victory when the Massachusetts Legislature passed a law banning 11 dangerous flame retardants and giving the state the authority to restrict the use of additional flame retardants.