MAINE PUBLIC • December 23, 2024
After a years-long delay, a state ban on some products containing harmful forever products may move forward. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection recently proposed rules that would gradually outlaw the sale of consumer goods with intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The family of chemicals has been used in a wide array of industries for decades. But there are recent heightened concerns about the chemicals' harm to human health and the environment. Under the rules nine categories of products including cleaners, cosmetics, cookware, textiles and ski wax would be banned in 2026. That prohibition would extend to most goods in 2032.