The narrative around environmental awareness in America usually centers on apathy. Certain regions don’t care enough. Certain demographics aren’t paying attention. People are too busy with daily life to worry about abstract threats like chemical contamination.
However, the real narrative is more complex.
Napoli Shkolnik’s 2025 Environmental Contaminants Survey, conducted in partnership with Dynata, captures responses from 1,000 Americans nationwide. The findings reveal something different than the assumed attitude: Communities across the country are asking hard questions about their air and water and demanding real accountability from both government and industry. But the data also exposes critical knowledge gaps — particularly around emerging contaminants like PFAS and ethylene oxide — that leave many Americans unaware of the threats in their own backyards.
These communities know what they want: transparent reporting about environmental hazards (34%), independent testing of air and water (25%), and consequences for companies that pollute (20%). They care. Now what?
The answer lies in understanding that while communities show genuine concern, many still lack the knowledge and tools they need to protect themselves. Some are turning to environmental litigation when government response falls short, but significant gaps remain in both awareness and action. The challenge is bridging the space between growing concern and effective protection.
Varying Levels of Awareness Across All Communities
Environmental worry spans the entire country. Twenty-seven percent of Americans are “very concerned” about pollution in their communities, with another 36% “somewhat concerned.” That’s nearly two-thirds of the population paying attention to what’s in their air and water.
This distress crosses regional boundaries, though not always where you might expect it most. The South and Midwest — regions that host the largest concentrations of toxic facilities and face long histories of industrial pollution — show some of the lowest levels of environmental concern.
Only a quarter of Southerners (25%) and about one in five Midwesterners (21%) express serious worry about pollution. Despite bearing disproportionate environmental burdens, these areas often lack the testing infrastructure, regulatory oversight, and information access that might otherwise fuel greater awareness and urgency.
For many families, environmental contamination is a very real, daily reality. One in four Americans (25%) say they or a family member developed new health problems in the past three years that they believe stem from environmental exposure. These personal experiences create powerful motivators for action.
Parents feel this urgency most acutely. When their children’s health might be at risk, fear jumps dramatically. Forty percent of parents express serious worry about pollution in their communities, compared to 27% of adults overall. Parents are also 2.5x more likely to report pollution-linked illness in their families. When you’re responsible for protecting someone else’s health, you pay closer attention to potential threats.
This level of awareness comes from lived experience, not media coverage. Four out of five people (80%) believe their household has been exposed to environmental contaminants. People are drawing these conclusions from their own observations and health experiences.
These health experiences have driven some communities to seek legal action. Napoli Shkolnik’s PFAS litigation represents water districts seeking accountability from chemical manufacturers. Cases like the Biolab explosion response show how some communities pursue answers when industrial accidents threaten their safety.
Understanding of Environmental Risks
Americans express worry about pollution, but their knowledge of specific threats varies widely.
Water trust has eroded across the country.
Only one-third of Americans (33%) believe their tap water is completely safe. Nearly one in five (18%) consider it unsafe. The rest fall somewhere in between, uncertain about what’s coming out of their faucets.
Knowledge varies dramatically depending on the contaminant:
- Microplastics: More than half (52%) know what they are, and 48% believe they’ve been exposed.
- PFAS “forever chemicals”: Thirty percent understand what they are, but only 31% believe they’ve been exposed despite 98% contamination in US waterways.
- Ethylene oxide (EtO): About 21% know about this chemical, despite it being one of the most toxic substances in active industrial use.
Age shapes how people view environmental threats.
Young Americans are four times more likely to distrust their water than older generations. More than a quarter of Gen Z (26%) say tap water is unsafe compared to 6% of boomers. This isn’t just generational pessimism. Younger Americans have lived through the Flint water crisis, learned about PFAS contamination, and grown up knowing that “safe” isn’t always guaranteed.
Women face a knowledge gap at the worst possible time.
Despite higher biological risk from chemicals like PFAS, especially during pregnancy, women are less informed about these threats. A mere 27% of women know what PFAS is, while the number increases to 34% for men.
People understand that environmental harm affects more than health.
When asked about their biggest fears, 74% worry about health decline, but nearly half (47%) also fear property value losses, and 40% worry about having to move away from contaminated areas.
Residents Want More Protection From Local Governments
Knowing the risks is one thing. Trusting someone to address them is another. Only 17% of Americans feel “very confident” that their local officials will protect them from environmental harm. While nearly two-thirds express some level of trust, the shallow confidence reveals communities that want to believe in their institutions but aren’t seeing the action they need.
When asked what would help, Americans point to specific solutions. More than a third want regular public reporting about environmental hazards in their communities. A quarter demand independent testing of air and water, separate from what industry or government provides. One in five seeks harsher penalties for companies that pollute.
These demands reflect a generation gap in both urgency and expectations. Younger Americans have grown up with access to information and expect the same transparency about environmental threats. Nearly half of millennials and Gen Z want regular reporting and community education about risks in their areas. They’re used to real-time updates about everything from traffic to weather. Why should environmental hazards be different?
The political response faces a structural challenge. Boomers hold 61% of Senate seats and 39% of House seats, while Gen X controls 41% of the House. Together, these older generations dominate Congress despite boomers representing only 19% of the total population. Yet they’re least likely to see environmental threats as urgent. According to our survey, only 6% of boomers consider tap water unsafe compared to 26% of Gen Z and 25% of millennials. The generations most worried about contamination — Gen Z and millennials — have minimal representation in the halls of power where environmental policy gets made.
People also understand that environmental problems create economic ripple effects beyond health care costs. They worry about higher taxes to fund cleanup efforts (30%) and lasting damage to their community’s reputation. When chemical contamination hits a town, property values drop and businesses hesitate to invest. These aren’t abstract concerns but practical fears about their financial future.
The 80% of Americans who want more environmental action aren’t giving up on government. They’re demanding it rise to meet the moment.
Meeting Community Demands for Transparency, Remediation, and Recovery
When institutional responses fall short of community urgency, local governments and water providers must find other ways to get what they need. Environmental litigation has become a tool for delivering exactly what Americans say they want: transparency, independent testing, and resources for recovery.
Environmental litigation creates lasting change through three essential steps:
- Transparency first: Legal discovery forces companies to disclose contamination data they might otherwise keep private.
- Prevention through deterrence: Settlements make polluters pay for cleanup costs and health impacts rather than passing those costs to taxpayers.
- Remediation and recovery: Court proceedings put environmental information into the public record, where communities can access it.
Real results prove the approach works. Napoli Shkolnik’s $15 billion PFAS settlements show how legal action can deliver what communities demand. Water districts across the country now have the resources to clean up contamination and monitor ongoing health impacts. The companies that created the problem pay for the solution.
The need spans the entire country. Environmental litigation serves engaged communities nationwide when other avenues have fallen short. Geography doesn’t matter. When local environmental threats emerge and government response proves inadequate, legal action provides a path to accountability that communities can’t find elsewhere.
Environmental litigation doesn’t replace government oversight. It fills the gaps where institutional response falls short. With 87% of Americans concerned about pollution but less than a fifth fully confident in government protection, legal action bridges that accountability gap. It gives communities a way to turn their environmental awareness into concrete protection for their families and neighborhoods.
Communities across America show genuine concern about environmental threats. While knowledge gaps remain, people want more information, better testing, and greater accountability. When traditional institutions don’t respond quickly enough, they’ll find other ways to get what they deserve.
When Communities Seek Protection, ELF Helps Deliver Support
At Napoli Shkolnik, we believe concerned communities deserve more than promises — they deserve answers, resources, and real accountability. That’s why we launched the Environmental Law Forum (ELF), a new initiative dedicated to raising awareness, advocating for stronger protections, and helping communities navigate the challenges of environmental harm.
From PFAS contamination to ethylene oxide exposure and beyond, ELF exists to spotlight underreported risks, elevate local voices, and push for systemic change. .
To learn more about how ELF promotes environmental justice through research, advocacy, and legal insight, visit the https://environmentallawforum.org/.