"States take on PFAS 'forever chemicals' with bans, lawsuits", 26 Sep 2022

"Forever chemicals" are everywhere. The thousands of chemicals in the group known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are found in cookware, packaging, cosmetics, clothing, carpet, electronics, firefighting foam and many other products.

The chemicals, which do not naturally break down, are so widespread that they're found in the blood of 97% of Americans. Research shows that some PFAS compounds may decrease fertility, cause metabolic disorders, damage the immune system and increase the risk of cancer.

While states await regulations from the federal Environmental Protection Agency, rising awareness in recent years has prompted more than two dozen states to take the initiative to protect their residents' health...

Still, the patchwork of laws and lawsuits remains uneven...

Industry advocates, meanwhile, are lobbying on the federal level and in statehouses, arguing that attempts to regulate PFAS broadly could end up banning harmless chemicals that are crucial for important products and industries...

Lawmakers in several states point to Maine's 2021 passage of a law banning PFAS in all new products as a landmark moment.

The measure, which will take effect in 2030, bans any intentionally added PFAS, but allows for exceptions in products that are essential for health, safety or the functioning of society and don't yet have a PFAS-free alternative...

Few, if any states, have passed a PFAS ban as sweeping as Maine's, but many have enacted laws targeting PFAS in food packaging, cosmetics, firefighting foam or textiles. Colorado passed a law earlier this year covering many products, while also ending its use in oil and gas production...

Earlier this year, Florida legislators passed a bill requiring the state's Department of Environmental Protection to establish rules by 2025 for target cleanup levels of PFAS if the EPA has not set a national standard by then...

[L]awmakers in Vermont gave residents the right to sue chemical companies for medical monitoring costs if they've been exposed to PFAS.

Meanwhile, 15 state attorneys general separately have sued companies alleged to be responsible for PFAS contamination, seeking damages for the harm caused by the pollution...

But some industry leaders think it's unfair to hold PFAS manufacturers accountable for every instance of contamination.

"It's not the person who manufactured it who caused the spill or leak, it's the person on whose property the leak occurred," said Scott Manley... of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce...

But in some states, leaders would rather see polluters than taxpayers pay for cleanup...