Maine outlaws PFAS in products with pioneering law

On Thursday the Maine legislature became the first in the country to fully ban PFAS, a class of harmful chemicals linked to serious illness. The law will ban PFAS in nearly all products by 2030 and is a pioneering measure in the US. The ban has come with backlash from certain groups such as the American Chemistry Council industry body which sees the ban as “misguided” and fears that it could be detrimental to residents of the state who will lose access to products they rely on that contain PFAS. These products, of course, are associated with increased rates of cancer and other serious illnesses so Maine residents will hopefully agree this is a necessary inconvenience while safer alternatives are developed in the next decade before the ban fully goes into effect.