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CR's long-running efforts to protect the public from PFAS chemicals paid dividends this spring, when the Environmental Protection Agency proposed the first national standard to limit the substances in drinking water.

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, resist breaking down in the environment and can remain in people's bodies for years. Exposure can cause a range of health risks, including cancer, liver damage, immune system suppression, and developmental issues in fetuses.

PFAS are used to make countless consumer products resistant to water, oil, and corrosion, and the chemicals seep into water systems from factories, landfills, and other sources.

CR has been raising awareness about PFAS since 2019, partly through investigations that have found the chemicals in food packaging, bottled water, and nonstick cookware. In 2021, a joint investigation by CR and the Guardian US found widespread PFAS contamination in U.S. drinking water.

The EPA proposal would set limits on six PFAS chemicals (of the more than 12,000 known) and require municipal water systems to monitor them, notify the public about the levels detected, and reduce levels that exceed the limits.

Please help us urge the EPA to adopt the proposal by signing our petition.

46 out of 120 tap water samples CR collected around the country exceeded our recommended limit for total PFAS.

What's at stake: Consumers are perpetually barraged by fees—overdraft charges on bank accounts, seat assignment fees on airlines, service charges on event tickets, resort fees on hotel stays, broadcast TV fees on cable service. What's more, consumers are too often surprised by these fees because they tend to lurk in the fine print—or appear on bills only when it's too late or inconvenient to back out. Such fees aren't just a nuisance. Because they’re often not included in the advertised price, or sticker price, they undermine consumer efforts to comparison shop and to stick to their household budgets.

What CR is doing: CR has been battling these kinds of junk fees for years. In 2019, we launched the "What the Fee?!" campaign to spotlight the problem in the telecom, travel, and cable industries. And in 2022 we urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to protect consumers from excessive and hidden fees. Among other things, our efforts have persuaded federal regulators to require cable TV providers to disclose total prices before consumers sign up for service.

This year, we delivered more than 41,000 consumer signatures to the Federal Trade Commission, demanding an end to junk fees; endorsed the Junk Fee Prevention Act, which is currently being debated in both houses of Congress; and briefed White House staff members before President Joe Biden announced a crackdown on junk fees during his February State of the Union address.

What you can do: Sign our petition in support of the Junk Fee Prevention Act.

CR's recent study of peer-to-peer payment apps such as Cash App, Venmo, and Zelle found that they may put consumers at risk of, among other things, losing money through fraud. We’re working with these companies to improve their practices. Meanwhile, you can help by signing our petition asking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Congress to impose some commonsense rules on them, like requiring that they investigate fraud reports, provide insurance on user funds, and collect only the data needed to deliver users their service. Add your name to the petition.

Editor's Note: This article also appeared in the July 2023 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.