Paper short abstract:

Providing scientific information on safe PFAS exposure levels may not lead to citizens making ‘choices’ that health authorities intend to promote, but instead to new troubles. Our auto-ethnographic experiment explores how public information about toxic chemicals falls into everyday practices.

Paper long abstract:

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) advises a maximum intake of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) – a toxic, persistent, and bioaccumulating pollutant – of 4.4 nanograms per kg of body weight per week. National health authorities translate this value into information that supposedly enables citizens to make ‘responsible choices’ to limit exposure. Distributing information thus aims to care for the health of citizens without compromising their freedom. This approach follows a linear model of decision-action: (1) value-neutral knowledge about pollution is collected, (2) relevant values are weighed, and (3) subsequent action is taken. Our previous ethnographic research with swimmers, eaters, fishers, and gardeners living near a fluorochemical plant in The Netherlands shows, however, that more information about PFAS does not help make better decisions but creates new troubles to grapple with. To understand what is going wrong as official information meets practical concerns, we embarked on the auto-ethnographic experiment of trying to follow public guidance on PFAS exposure for one week. Our experiences while aiming to follow guidelines illustrate troubles with modeling a population as rational decision-makers: (1) scientific knowledge does not map onto the messy realities of practice; (2) our practical dealings with PFAS are best described as ‘juggling’ and ‘keeping afloat,’ (not ‘weighing’ or ‘choosing’); and (3) action does not follow (only) decisions but (also) many practical-material complexities at hand. This raises questions for authorities seeking to care for affected communities – and urges them to think beyond the ‘decision-making citizen’ as the figure to care for.