Minnesota is joining the forefront in banning products that contain PFAS (a class of compounds better known as "forever chemicals" because of their persistence in the environment and humans). The ban goes into effect in three months starting Jan. 1, 2025.
"The 2025 made without PFAS requirements are an essential step to protect Minnesotans and our communities," Minnesota Pollution Control Agency spokesperson Katrina Kessler said.
Kessler was joined by the Minnesota Department of Health deputy commissioner, Wendy Underwood, on Monday to discuss the PFAS ban that targets many consumer products like cosmetics, cookware, dental floss, and clothing.
"PFAS are not only in air soil water and wildlife. They can now be measured in most people around the world," Underwood said.
The legislation that created the ban is called "Amara's Law," in honor of Amara Strande of Maplewood, who died April 14 at the age of 20 after a long battle with a rare form of liver cancer. Amara spent the last months of her life making trips to the Capitol to testify in support of a PFAS ban, because she was convinced her disease was due to cell mutations triggered by PFAS in drinking water.
Many companies have taken proactive steps to clear their products on PFAS, like Minnesota based Sigma Beauty, Faribault Mill, and Nordic Ware.
"To make sure our products are PFAS free, we watch manufacturing very carefully," Sigma Beauty spokesperson, Katie Paulson said.
The health impacts of PFAS exposure are still being studied around the world. According to a Minnesota Department of Health summary, prolonged "forever chemical" exposure has been linked to liver and thyroid ailments, immune response suppression and development issues in children.
Maplewood-based 3M, which invented the ubiquitous nonstick chemical, has maintained that the levels in drinking water aren't sufficient to trigger adverse health effects. The company and the State of Minnesota reached an $850 million out-of-court settlement after the state sued, seeking the cost of cleanup of ground water contaminated by PFAS chemicals that spread from 3M dump sites.
A study by University of Southern California researchers found that people with higher levels of PFAS in their bodies were more likely than others to develop liver cancer, but cautioned that larger studies are needed to gain a full understanding of the relationship between the chemicals and these ailments.
The Environmental Protection Agency has adopted tougher standards for what's considered an acceptable maximum level of PFAS in municipal water, something that could come at a significant cost for water treatment plants that aren't equipped to filter it to that extent.
The EPA's state counterpart, the Minnesota Dept. of Pollution Control, has established an aggressive multi-pronged plan for tackling PFAS issues. It includes more monitoring of ground water, assisting municipalities with PFAS removal, and new efforts to correlate contamination with adverse health impacts.
"To hear year after year young people come to the Capitol and beg adult lawmakers to take action on this PFAS issue and us do nothing is heartbreaking," Rep. Sydney Jordan, a Minneapolis Democrat remarked.