A person shops at a home improvement store in New York City in January. Many states have enacted laws this year to restrict the use of PFAS — often called “forever chemicals” — in a wide array of consumer goods or firefighting foam. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Legislative momentum against PFAS has surged this year, as at least 11 states enacted laws to restrict the use of “forever chemicals” in everyday consumer products or professional firefighting foam.
The legislation includes bans on PFAS in apparel, cleaning products, cookware, and cosmetic and menstrual products. Meanwhile, lawmakers in some states also passed measures that require industries to pay for testing or cleanup; order companies to disclose the use of PFAS in their products; and mandate or encourage the development of PFAS alternatives, according to Safer States, an alliance of environmental health groups focused on toxic chemicals.
In total this year, at least 16 states adopted 22 PFAS-related measures , according to the group. Since 2007, 30 states have approved 155 PFAS policies , the vast majority of them in the past five years.