PFAS: What RI Is Doing To Regulate ‘Forever Chemicals’

RHODE ISLAND — Multiple U.S. states, including Rhode Island, are moving to restrict the use of “forever chemicals” that have been linked to infertility, thyroid problems and several types of cancer.

Polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are known as “forever chemicals” because of their durability in high heat and water, which means they remain in the environment for years without breaking down. They’re found in thousands of consumer products — cookware, cosmetics, food packaging, outdoor apparel and carpets among them — as well as in firefighting foams.

No state is untouched by PFAS contamination. About half of U.S. states regulate PFAS chemicals in drinking water on their own or are taking action to expand PFAS monitoring and a dozen are eliminating PFAS in food packaging, according to a list curated by Safer Sates, an alliance of environmental health organizations and coalitions from across the country.

A dozen states have banned the use of firefighting foam containing PFAS, seven have adopted restrictions on PFAS in carpets, rugs and carpet treatments, and five are taking action to ban them in cosmetics.

Rhode Island has banned or limited the use of PFAS in several ways. For one, Rhode Island has a ban against adding PFAs to food containers. The state also in 2022 set a limit on PFAS in the drinking water supply to 20 parts per trillion. The new rule requires public water testing by July 1.

Major brands, retailers, restaurants and grocery stores are also phasing out their use.

Additionally, attorneys general in 21 states, including Rhode Island, are suing PFAS manufacturers, firefighting foam producers, private companies and the Department of Defense over contamination.

The federal government has lagged in regulating PFAS, even though mounting scientific evidence points to their health risks, according to a report by The Washington Post. The Environmental Protection Agency acted earlier this spring to impose limits on six forever chemicals in drinking water this spring.

The American Chemical Council, the industry’s primary trade group, has said the majority of some 5,000 chemicals in the PFAS group are safe and at least two are problematic at high levels. Banning an entire class of chemicals could block the production of goods such as semiconductors and medical devices.

“We have strong concerns with overly broad state legislation that takes a one-size-fits-all approach to the regulation of these chemistries,” Robert Simon, a vice president with the American Chemistry Council, told The Washington Post. “Furthermore, a patchwork of conflicting state-based approaches could jeopardize access to important products.”

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has multiple investigations under way to evaluate PFAS in the environment.

Last week, three leading chemical companies reached a $1.18 billion deal to resolve complaints of PFAS pollution in many U.S. drinking water systems.

DuPont de Nemours Inc. and two of its spinoff companies, The Chemours Co. and Corteva Inc., said they would establish a fund to compensate water providers for contamination with the chemicals. They made the chemicals other companies used in firefighting foam, which has tainted groundwater on or near military bases and other areas where training exercises were held.

The agreement would settle a case that was scheduled for trial Monday involving a claim by Stuart, Florida, one of about 300 communities that have filed similar suits since 2018 against companies that produced firefighting foam or the PFAS it contained.

The companies said in a joint statement the proposed settlement would “comprehensively resolve all PFAS-related drinking water claims of a defined class of public water systems that serve the vast majority of the United States population.”

That group could include thousands of public water systems, from large cities to those serving a few thousand residents, said Michael London, lead counsel for one of the law firms bringing the actions. To qualify for shares of the fund, they would have to test their water and detect PFAS.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.