Minnesota House Considers Bills To Ban ‘Forever Chemicals' In More Products

CBS Minnesota

February 24, 2022

A Minnesota House committee on Wednesday considered three bills that would ban a family of chemicals known as PFAS, sometimes called “forever chemicals” because they persist in the environment, from cosmetics, cookware and ski wax.

The three bills, expected to be heard in the House Commerce Committee Wednesday afternoon, follow a successful effort last legislative session to ban the forever chemicals from food packaging. Democratic Rep. Ami Wazlawik, of White Bear Township, the bills’ author, said in an interview that the proposals continue the work started last session an state pollution control officials continue to find traces of the chemicals all over the state.

“The more we can do to prevent further PFAS contamination from getting into the waste stream, from getting into landfills and from having exposure to our human bodies through these products, the better off that we’ll be because these chemicals accumulate,” Wazlawik said. “That’s sort of the urgency of it — these chemicals are called ‘forever chemicals’ for a reason.”

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