Connecticut Legislature expands state ban on PFAS

State lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted Tuesday night in favor of a Senate bill that would ban the use of dangerous “forever chemicals” in certain household products and textiles.

After passing unanimously in both chambers, the bill now heads to the governor’s desk for final approval.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, colloquially known as PFAS, are a family of man-made chemicals that have been linked to cancer, impaired immune function, low birth weight, organ damage and other harmful conditions.

They are also in everything from drinking water, to shampoo, to frying pans, to toys. Once absorbed by the body or released into the environment, PFAS can linger forever, thanks to the chemicals’ indestructible properties.

Senate Bill 292 would ban the sale of products containing PFAS across fourteen product categories over the next four years.

“PFAS are forever chemicals used in so many products that eventually seep into our drinking water sources and cause a host of problems – kidney cancer, reduced fertility and liver function, they are dangerous to fetal development and much more,” Senator Rick Lopes, chairman of the Environment Committee, said this after the bill was passed by the Senate. “To truly solve this problem, we must stop the use of these harmful chemicals.”

On October 1, 2024, the bill will ban the sale and use of soil amendments made from sewage residues or wastewater sludge containing PFAS.

On January 1, 2026, legislation will require written disclosures about the existence of intentionally added PFAS for all outdoor clothing designed for severe wet conditions and equipment used by firefighters and emergency responders.

Beginning July 1, 2026, all “clothing, carpets or rugs, cleaning products, cookware, cosmetics, dental floss, textile treatments, children’s products, menstrual products, ski wax, textile furniture, and upholstered furniture” that have intentionally added PFAS must carry a label informing consumers of the presence of the chemicals. In addition, manufacturers of such products must notify the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in writing in advance of the use of PFAS.

The ban will be extended to the regulated categories on January 1, 2028.

The range of products covered by the legislation is significantly limited in scope compared to previous iterations that sought broader regulation.

When the Environment Committee advanced the proposal in February, the original bill called for a ban by 2032 on any product containing intentionally added PFAS unless the use of PFAS was unavoidable.

“That was the problematic issue,” Lopes said Thursday in the Senate ahead of a vote on the legislation.

Lopes said the latest language limits the bill’s focus to issues that “people deal with on a regular basis.”

“The use of PFAS in the Pratt and Whitney jet engine is not that much of an issue,” Lopes said. “But things like textile items, cleaning products, carpets and rugs, cookware, dental floss, textile treatment, children’s products, menstrual products, textile furniture, ski wax, a lot of things that you wouldn’t have expected to have PFAS in them that actually come into contact with us and interact with us that we probably don’t want that chemical.

A draft adopted by the committee in March would have pushed back the start date of the PFAS ban on such products from the current bill’s 2028 deadline to 2026. It would also require all manufacturers of any product to which PFAS has been intentionally added have an obligation to report information. about such products to DEEP before January 1, 2027.

After working with environmentalists and 10 different industries to ensure the bill would not inadvertently harm economic productivity, Lopes said he is confident the end product is something people are “generally good at.”’

“Is this the best thing in the world? No. But I think at this point all parties have signed and agreed on it. That is something we have to continue with,” said Lopes.

Lopes said the PFAS law is “a much more limited law compared to what they’re doing in other states,” but he said the proposed legislation provides more predictability for manufacturers, who Lopes said are already identifying and implementing PFAS-free alternatives for their products . Products.

“It becomes quite complex as other states try to do this individually. Other states are trying to do this regionally. The federal government is trying to do some of this work, and manufacturers are moving in this direction anyway,” Lopes said. “We are all trying to work together to find a coherent, consistent direction for the ban on this chemical so that there is clarity for the industry and manufacturers as they move forward.”

“We are once again encouraging the industry to move in a direction that is better for our health and well-being,” Lopes said.

The bill passed Tuesday builds on a ban the Legislature enacted in 2021 that bans the use of PFAS in Class B firefighting foam and food packaging.

Last month, the Biden administration set the first-ever limit on PFAS levels in drinking water, after a 2023 study found the chemicals were present in 45% of the nation’s tap water.

“We’re starting to see towns and cities across the state of Connecticut, certainly across the country, being impacted by PFAS contamination, not only on their land and in the soil, but also in the water systems,” said Senator Christine Cohen.

Cohen said PFAS contamination has spread in her district to schools, city buildings and residences.

“These homes now learned that they were showering with water that contained PFAS. They drank water and thought they were always safe. And yet these are forever chemicals, meaning once you ingest them, they don’t go away,” Cohen said.

Senator Saud Anwar, a physician, said PFAS are endocrine-disrupting chemicals and carcinogens.

Anwar said part of the challenge of PFAS is its prevalence. According to reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 97% of Americans have PFAS in their blood.

“If you were to check every one of us in this room, I can assure you that almost every one of us will have PFAS in our bodies,” Anwar told his fellow senators. “While there will be such a huge amount of legitimate investment to try to clean up PFAS from the environment, the responsibility is that we must have a prevention strategy. This bill is a step in the right direction.”

Senator Tony Hwang emphasized the importance of the phased approach to the PFAS bill.

“We didn’t get here overnight, and we won’t create and find solutions overnight. So this bill, as amended, makes incremental, targeted efforts to change the use of PFAS and continue the awareness associated with it,” Hwang said. “I know there will be challenges in balancing business and economic interests because the substance and chemical content are everywhere. But that being said, we have to move forward.”