PFAS chemicals are everywhere, from your frying pan to your drinking water. But what can you do to limit your exposure?
On May 7, 2025, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department issued a notice with offers to exchange nonstick pans owned by residents of the county for pans not coated with PFAS compounds. Read the full article, Taking Chemicals Off the Menu, One Pot and Pan at a Time. 
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department urges everyone to “Skip the Nonstick ICK.” Catchy.
This program is administered by the Health Department and paid for with a grant from the National Estuary Program, administered by the State of Washington Department of Ecology. 
The Tacoma-Pierce Health Department even added a link to this informative consumer-level page about PFAS and their effect on human health along with potential exposure pathways.
For more background information on PFAS, view our previous blog posts, Washington State CLARC PFAS Updates (2024) Regional Screening Levels vs Method Detection Limits – PFAS and “Dark Waters” – The Story of PFAS Regulation.
Resources
https://www.epa.gov/risk/regional-screening-levels-rsls-frequent-questions
https://www.epa.gov/cwa-methods/method-detection-limit-frequent-questions
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-12/documents/mdl-procedure_rev2_12-13-2016.pdf
https://www.usfa.fema.gov/blog/firefighting-foams-pfas-vs-fluorine-free-foams/#:~:text=Per%2D%20and%20polyfluoroalkyl%20substances%20(PFAS,to%20fighting%20liquid%20fuel%20fires.
https://www.epa.gov/pfas/our-current-understanding-human-health-and-environmental-risks-pfas
https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-04/pfas-enforcement-discretion-settlement-policy-cercla.pdf