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Title: States Are Banning Forever Chemicals. Industry Is Fighting Back

Link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/08/0126...

New Mexico's legislature passed bills last week that would ban consumer
products containing PFAS, joining a small but growing number of states taking
action against these persistent "forever chemicals." If signed by the
governor, the legislation would prohibit the sale of many products with added
per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in New Mexico, making it the
third state after Maine and Minnesota to enact such comprehensive
restrictions. At least 29 states have PFAS-related bills before state
legislatures this year, according to Safer States, a network of advocacy
organizations. Research shows PFAS accumulate in the environment and human
bodies, potentially causing health problems from high cholesterol to cancer.
EPA figures indicate almost half of Americans are exposed to PFAS in their
drinking water. Wired reports that chemical and consumer products industries
are aggressively fighting state-level bans on "forever chemicals" through
lobbying and legal action as regulations spread across the United States. The
Cookware Sustainability Alliance, formed in 2024 by major cookware
manufacturers, has testified in 10 statehouses against PFAS restrictions and
sued Minnesota in January, claiming its ban is unconstitutional. (The New
Mexico bills include notable exemptions, particularly for fluoropolymers used
in nonstick cookware, following successful lobbying by industry groups.)
Industry groups are also targeting federal regulators, with the American
Chemistry Council and others recommending the EPA adopt a narrower definition
of PFAS. "The federal regulatory approach is preferable to a patchwork of
different and potentially conflicting state approaches," said Erich Shea from
the American Chemistry Council.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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