In this excerpt from Inescapable: Facing Up to Forever Chemicals, author Marina Schauffler examines how PFAS pollution has left farmers grappling with contaminated land and uncertain futures.

The future of Kate Tucker’s family farm looks as murky as its waterways face a raft of contamination issues, but poor environmental regulation has left her with few options.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has an alternative definition of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that excludes new herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, and says they pose no threat to human health.