Bill to ban ‘forever chemicals’ in consumer products moves forward at Vt. Statehouse
MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) - A bill to ban more household consumer products containing PFAS is gaining traction at the Statehouse.
They’re products that we all have in our homes, and experts say they’re doing us more harm than good. From the clothes we wear to the products we use on our bodies, it’s hard to avoid PFAS.
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances are a dangerous and persistent group of chemicals Vermont aims to phase out.
“How do we keep moving forward, year by year, to try to just get more and more PFAS out of our products?” asked Lauren Hierl with the Vermont Natural Resources Council.
The group last year pushed for Act 131, a ban on PFAS in period products, clothes, and cookware. This year, proposed House Bill 238 would take it a step further by banning PFAS in dental floss, cleaning products, and PFAS-lined containers. “It is sending a signal that the market should shift away from these chemicals altogether,” said Hierl.
Representative Ela Chapin, D-Montpelier, cosponsored the bill. It’s based on a recent state report recommending products for the next PFAS phaseout. “There’s a lot of potential human health impact from the products and there are alternatives being developed by those industries, and we can, we can get those products without PFAS,” Chapin said.
The bill would implement staggered phaseouts over coming years, giving manufacturers time to adapt.
Hierl says that as Vermont and other states step forward, it puts pressure on companies. “We’ve heard threats of, ‘We’re just going to pull things from your store shelves.’ But in reality, what we do often has ripple effects,” she said.
That means most of the products you know and love would still be up for grabs. “Consumers will still see the same kinds of products on the shelves, and they just won’t have PFAS in them,” Chapin said.
The bill passed the House earlier this month and was taken up last week by the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare
Whether H.238 passes or not, consumers can check out sites like Toxic Free Future to shop for safe products.
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