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States Are Banning Forever Chemicals. Industry Is Fighting Back (wired.com)

(Monday April 07, 2025 @10:00PM (msmash) from the closer-look dept.)


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 [1]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.



[1] https://www.wired.com/story/states-banning-pfas-forever-chemicals-industry-fighting-back/


See If You Can Find... (Score:2)

by rally2xs ( 1093023 )

...your Coke and Pepsi in glass bottles again, or kids to go out and clean up the roads for 10 cents a bottle when returning them!

Re: (Score:2)

by XXongo ( 3986865 )

> ...your Coke and Pepsi in glass bottles again, or kids to go out and clean up the roads for 10 cents a bottle when returning them!

I take it you don't know what per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances are?

A hint, they are not the plastic that soft drink bottles are made out of.

New Mexico (Score:2)

by GrahamJ ( 241784 )

Isn't it called New America now?

Cast Iron (Score:4, Informative)

by grasshoppa ( 657393 )

Putting aside the legality of it, if you want safe nonstick; get cast iron. It only takes a little bit of adjustment, but then it works as well if not better than any non-stick pans out there.

The biggest hurdle is comfort/education, but once you've got it it's pretty simple. And they last forever; I'm only half joking when I tell my daughter that my cast iron pans are her inheritance.

Re: (Score:2)

by Xenographic ( 557057 )

This is what I did. They're basically indestructible and once I learned how they worked, I haven't needed anything else. They also seem to be easier to clean than the old nonstick pans. Oh, and they give you a little extra iron in your food.

States rights, until it costs too much (Score:2)

by NotEmmanuelGoldstein ( 6423622 )

> ... preferable to a patchwork ...

This translates to: A US state will impose stricter regulation and it is expensive to politicize the issue. It's cheaper to bribe a few federal senators, instead of senators in each state.

A little pain never hurt anyone.