Multi-Scalar, Multi-Stakeholder Environmental Governance of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances(PFAS)

PFAS（全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质）是世纪最重要的污染危机之一，影响了估计2亿美国居民的饮用水，激发了多项流行病学、毒理学、暴露、命运和运输研究，以及数十个基层组织的行动、州和联邦层面的监管和集体诉讼。全氟辛烷磺酸对人类健康和环境构成重大风险，因为它们具有极高的环境持久性、生物累积性和低剂量下有记录的毒性效应。为了应对PFAS有限的联邦治理的遗留问题，州和地方采取了前所未有的行动，目前正在恢复联邦行动。越来越多的州已经制定了饮用水中PFAS的监管限制，限制PFAS在各种产品中的使用，建立血液和水检测项目，资助补救活动，并开展公众教育活动。这项研究将通过研究这些治理活动如何在多个规模和多个利益相关者群体中发生，帮助公众了解PFAS的广泛治理行动。它将帮助政府机构了解PFAS治理所涉及的因素。它将告知国家机构其他监管和非监管行动的领域，并使他们能够寻求和采取行动，他们需要的资源。通过这项研究创建的公共PFAS治理数据库将使公众和学术界更广泛地了解这一问题。该项目将使用深入的访谈，观察和分析治理文件，以调查美国联邦，州和地方各级的各种监管和非监管（监测，资助，补救）方法，包括不采取行动的选择。由此产生的政策、行动和咨询服务治理数据库将有助于分析治理对策在不同空间和时间的传播和增长情况。该项目将进一步调查科学家、民选官员、律师和法院系统、劳工团体、公司、贸易团体、活动家以及标准制定组织等政府周边团体的治理活动。该项目还将确定各治理规模和利益攸关方之间协调与合作的障碍，例如专业知识的差异、机构采取行动的意愿和预算限制。通过研究这些差异如何影响公共卫生保护，该研究将确定有意义的公共卫生保护和公平参与治理活动的障碍。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are one of the most significant contamination crises of the century, impacting the drinking water of an estimated 200 million U.S. residents and inspiring multiple epidemiological, toxicological, exposure, and fate and transport studies as well as action by dozens of grassroots organizations, regulation at the state and federal level, and class action lawsuits. PFAS pose significant risks to human health and the environment because of their extremely high environmental persistence, bioaccumulation, and documented toxic effects at low doses. In response to a legacy of limited federal governance of PFAS, there is unprecedented state and local action, and presently there is a renewal of federal action. A growing number of states have established regulatory limits on PFAS in drinking water, placed restrictions on PFAS use in various products, set up blood and water testing projects, funded remediation activities, and carried out public education campaigns. This research will aid the public in learning about the wide range of governance actions on PFAS by studying how these governance activities are taking place both at multiple scales and across multiple stakeholder groups. It will help government agencies understand factors involved in PFAS governance. It will inform state agencies of the realm of other regulatory and non-regulatory actions, and enable them to seek and act upon the resources they need. The publicly available PFAS Governance Database created through this research will allow for broader public and academic understanding of the issue.The project will use in-depth interviews, observations, and analysis of governance documents to investigate the variety of regulatory and non-regulatory (monitoring, funding, remediation) approaches at federal, state, and local levels taken across the U.S., including the option of inaction. The resulting PFAS Governance Database will facilitate analysis of the diffusion and growth of governance responses across space and time. The project will further investigate the governance activities of scientists, elected officials, lawyers and court systems, labor groups, corporations, trade groups, activists, and peri-governmental groups such as standard-setting organizations. The project will also identify barriers to coordination and collaboration across governance scales and stakeholders, such as variation in expertise, agency willingness to act, and budgetary constraints. By examining how these differences impact public health protections, the research will identify barriers to meaningful public health protection and equitable involvement in governance activities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.