Lawmakers in Pennsylvania have introduced legislation that aims to protect residents from numerous products containing harmful chemicals.
The proposed House Bill 2238 seeks to ban the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in goods such as cleaning products, carpets, cookware, cosmetics, dental floss, food packaging, infant and children's products, menstrual products, and textiles by 2027, according to Newsweek.
"It is literally in just about every consumer product that we use and as a result of that 95 percent of us in the United States actually have some trace level of PFAS in our system," state Rep. Josh Siegel said, per WFMZ.
Should the bill pass, it will not go into effect immediately to allow companies to adjust to the policy.
PFAS, otherwise known as "forever chemicals," gained popularity because of their durability, nonstick properties, and stain resistance, per the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. They're also versatile enough for the aerospace, automotive, construction, and electronics industries to use in manufacturing.
However, production processes leach these chemicals into the air, soil, and water, exposing humans and wildlife to their toxic nature — a characteristic exacerbated by their ability to last centuries, sometimes millennia, before degrading. That can lead to health complications such as cancer, liver damage, and reduced fertility, per a memorandum written by state Reps. Greg Scott, Mandy Steele, and Tarik Khan.
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PFAS have been detected in human organs, including the testicles and uterus, entering our bodies through everything from personal care products to foods and drinking water.
"Because of the ubiquitous presence of PFAS in our environment, including water, soil and food, almost the entire population is exposed on a daily basis and it is thus difficult to completely avoid exposure," Maaike van Gerwen, director of research for the Department of Otolaryngology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, told Newsweek.
To combat this issue, local, state, and federal agencies have petitioned to outlaw their use or seeklegal action against the parties responsible for PFAS contamination.
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