Many state legislatures are considering bans on cosmetics and other consumer goods containing the PFAS chemical family.
This week, the Vermont state Senate granted its final approval to a bill that would ban the sale and distribution of menstruation products and cosmetics in the state that contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, as well as a variety of other chemicals.
According to Republican state senator and chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare Terry Williams, the products include shampoo, cosmetics, deodorant, sunscreen, hair colors, and more.
Williams stated in presenting the bill to Senate colleagues that “several known harmful chemicals are used in or detected as contaminants in personal care items, including PFAS, lead, and formaldehyde.”
Similar restrictions on cosmetics were passed in California, Colorado, and Maryland and will take effect in 2025. Bills have also been introduced in Illinois, Rhode Island, and Georgia, and additional ideas are being considered in Washington and Oregon.
As stated by the U.S. According to research cited by the Environmental Protection Agency, PFAS exposure increases the chance of developing cancer and delays in children’s development. harm to organs, including the liver and thyroid, elevated cholesterol levels, and weakened immune systems, particularly in young children.
The proposed Vermont ban on PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals” because of their tenacity in the environment, goes beyond cosmetics, similar to the crackdowns in Colorado and California.
The plan, which the Vermont House must now review, would expand the ban to include textiles, including upholstery, draperies, towels, bedding, and outdoor clothes for extremely wet circumstances, athletic turf, clothing, and ski wax.
The bill has been referred to a House committee, and on Friday, the panel’s chairperson expressed uncertainty about whether the panel would consider it this session. The Act specifies the number of phaseout timelines.
Lauren Hierl, executive director of Vermont Conservation Voters, states, “We must prohibit importing hazardous chemicals like PFAS into our state to prevent the harms they are producing up and down the supply chain – from their manufacturing and usage to their disposal.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the protection will prevent major illnesses like cancer and thousands of deaths by setting the first federal restrictions on the contaminants in drinking water.
Since the 1940s, the compounds have been utilized in industrial and consumer items like nonstick pans, food packaging, and firefighting foam.
Their use has since largely been phased out in the United States, but few still exist. There is also increasing pressure to get rid of PFAS from food packaging.
More than half of the cosmetics sold in the United States and Canada contain a dangerous industrial ingredient linked to significant health issues, according to a 2021 study by the University of Notre Dame researchers.
Researchers evaluated more than 230 regularly used cosmetics and discovered fluorine, a sign of PFAS, in 56% of foundations and eye products, 48% of lip products, and 47% of mascaras.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, there has been little research on the presence of PFAS in cosmetics, and the ones that have been published have found that the content is shallow.
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