Pennsylvania committee hears bipartisan testimony on banning PFAS from select consumer products

At an informational briefing of the Pennsylvania House Consumer Protection, Technology & Utilities Committee, lawmakers and public-health and industry witnesses on Tuesday discussed proposals to prohibit the manufacture or sale in the Commonwealth of consumer products with intentionally added PFAS — a class of persistent chemicals often called “forever chemicals.”

The presenters urged lawmakers to act on products that come into intimate contact with people — including juvenile products, menstrual products, cosmetics and dental floss — citing studies that find PFAS in those categories and possible health risks for infants, children, women and firefighters. Industry representatives said some PFAS chemistries are critical for medical, defense and other applications and urged narrowly drawn rules and clear certification requirements for manufacturers.

The hearing matters because committee members said the proposed legislation would target a pathway of exposure that state officials and researchers say adds to widespread environmental contamination and human accumulation of PFAS. Proponents said state action is needed to protect vulnerable populations and to avoid consumer confusion caused by partial or misleading labeling, while industry witnesses pressed for exemptions for essential uses and for definitions that are defensible in court.

Representative Greg Scott, sponsor of the consumer-product restriction discussed at the hearing, told the committee…