A Special Thanks To The Nantucket PFAS Action Group

To the editor: A huge thank you is owed to some of our community’s most benevolent & dedicated members. These are private citizens who saw a human and environmental health crisis and have taken it on head first with a vengeance.

This past Thursday, the Nantucket PFAS Action Group hosted some of the brightest and most cutting edge experts in the field of PFAS and human health for an in-depth look at the history and current state of PFAS in our environment. This spectacular event is something that could have never been achieved without the work of Ayesha & Nate Barber, Jaime Honkawa, Sean Mitchell, and Meri Lepore.

These community advocates - a couple of whom don’t even live here - have tirelessly fought to educate about the prevalence of PFAS on Nantucket and beyond. They have bravely shared their personal health crisis which can be attributed to the harmful effects of PFAS in order to help bring awareness and show others they’re not alone with this personal health struggle. They continue to spend time, money, and energy in droves to ensure that PFAS and its tremendous negative effects to humans, their communities, and the environment remains in the spotlight.

While it’s not their full-time professional job, these individuals have made it their full-time personal passion to help educate and better our community about PFAS. Due to their never ending dedication, research and connections, our community was privileged to have four of the leading experts in the world in the field of PFAS speak to our community. Dr. Kyla Bennett (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility), Dr. Graham Peaslee (Notre Dame University ) and Dr. Erik Olsen (Natural Resources Defense Council), chemist Kristen Mello, along with a federal agency whistleblower.

Just a short while ago, PFAS was an unknown problem on Nantucket. But thanks to the work of these private citizens we have become more educated in the harmful effects of PFAS. Dr. Peaslee again reminded us all on Thursday about the tremendous accomplishment Captain Nate Barber and former Deputy Chief Sean Mitchell achieved when they led the Nantucket Fire Department to be the first fire department in the country to purchase PFAS free fire gear. Just Wednesday morning around 5am, the Massachusetts Senate and House passed a bill at the state level that bans firefighting gear with PFAS from being sold after January 1, 2027.

This is a tremendous accomplishment which started on the salty shores of Nantucket, with a few dedicated individuals who saw a problem and did everything they could to take it on and make real substantial change despite the inevitable hurdles in front of them.

We see, yet again, how strong and resilient our community members are and that we are able to do more with less because of our caring for one another.

Knowing ones potential exposure helps you limit your exposure because no amount of PFAS is truly safe.

A very heartfelt thank you,

Meghan Perry