PFAS Risk-Mitigation Messaging: Achieving a More Sustainable and Healthier Living Environment

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent “forever chemicals” associated with environmental and public health risks. Despite increasing concern, policies and mitigation strategies often lag behind PFAS contamination, and many communities lack accessible solutions for reducing exposure. Effective risk communication is needed to develop public awareness of, engagement with, and adoption of PFAS mitigation practices. This study examined how risk message framing may influence behavioral intentions to reduce PFAS contamination in everyday living environments. A between-subjects experiment (N = 296) exposed participants to one of four PFAS messages varying in threat (high vs. low) and efficacy (high vs. low) levels. Participants reported very limited prior exposure to PFAS risk messaging. High-threat messages generated greater fear than low-threat messages, but high-efficacy messages did not produce significantly greater perceived efficacy than low-efficacy messages. The interaction between threat and efficacy significantly predicted emotional flow, with the high-threat/high-efficacy condition generating greater emotional flow than the low-threat/low-efficacy condition. Fear, perceived efficacy, and emotional flow were significant positive predictors of PFAS mitigation behavioral intentions. Findings suggest that PFAS risk communication should pair credible threat information with actionable efficacy cues that help audiences move from fear toward agency, hope, and protective intentions.