Big Chem Pushes Back Against PFAS Ban

As the federal government continues to take painfully small steps to rein in the extensive PFAS contamination that threatens human and ecological health, states are picking up the slack. Maine issued the first phased ban on intentionally added PFAS chemicals in most products in 2023. This is how democracies are supposed to work, but now Maine is seeing major pushback from polluting industries saying that the law will destroy the state’s economy. What’s playing out in Maine is a microcosm for the rest of the country, which is why we need to keep up the grassroots pressure on our federal representatives to issue a ban on PFAS chemicals as a class.

The Maine law was enacted in response to big problem. To illustrate: it was reported that a Maine farming family had discovered that the previous landowners had been using biosolids (aka sewage sludge) as fertilizer for years before they purchased the property. Consequently, the water on their land contained 400 times the safe limit of PFAS, as determined by the state.

This is how democracy should work. In response to a public health crisis where lives are in danger, lawmakers enact policies that protect public health.