Michigan State University PFAS Awareness Week

Katie King<kingka22@msu.edu>, kingka22@msu.edu - February 27, 2026

Join for a series of free events including an outreach table near the rock on campus, a webinar series, and a PFAS movie night.

This image shows the schedule of events for PFAS Awareness Week. Events include an outreach table near the rock on campus on Monday, March 16th. PFAS-related webinars from 10-11 am on Tuesday, March 17th- Thursday, March 19th and a PFAS movie night on Thursday, March 19th from 5:30-8 pm in the Biomedical Physical Sciences Building, Room 1415.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large group of manmade chemicals that are resistant to heat, water and oil. Since the 1940s, PFAS have been used in many industrial applications and consumer products, such as carpeting, waterproof clothing, grease and waterproof food packaging, cosmetics, fire-fighting foams, and metal plating. Due to the chemical structure of PFAS, they are extremely difficult to break down in our environment, which is why they are often referred to as ‘forever chemicals’. There are several health concerns associated with high levels of exposure to PFAS chemicals including the increased risks of developing certain types of cancer and thyroid disease, along with impacts on immune function and reproduction.

To raise awareness about PFAS and ongoing research at Michigan State University, and to empower students to better understand and manage their personal exposure, MSU’s Center for PFAS Research and PFAS Club will host “PFAS Awareness Week”. There will be several PFAS-related events, both on campus and virtually, at no cost to participants. These events include PFAS outreach tables on campus, a series of webinars and a PFAS movie night where we will watch the movie Dark Waters. For more information about the agricultural webinars, visit: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/msu-extension-offers-pfas-in-agriculture-webinar-series.

Full schedule of PFAS Awareness Week Events:

Monday March 16, 2026- PFAS Outreach Tables at the rock on campus (north of the Red Cedar River off Farm Lane)
Tuesday March 17, 2026- Introduction to PFAS in Agriculture Webinar
Wednesday March 18, 2026- PFAS Basics Webinar
Thursday March 19, 2026- PFAS in Crops Webinar
Thursday March 19, 2026- PFAS Movie night from 5:30-8:00 PM in Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building, Room 1415

Registration for PFAS in Agriculture Webinar Series (3/17 and 3/19 webinars): https://events.anr.msu.edu/PFASinAg/

Registration for PFAS Basics Webinar (3/18 webinar): https://msu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_khz0JhxjRWaUvLLWFRAdqA

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).