The Maine Department of Environmental Protection recommends the state push forward with a ban on toxic “forever chemicals” in nonstick cookware and other consumer products.
Industry representatives requested the state exempt nonstick cookware under a “currently unavoidable use” designation.
The exemption permits products with intentionally added PFAS to be sold as its addition is “essentially for health, safety and the functioning of society” and that alternatives are unavailable to consumers.
The department recommended that the Board of Environmental Protection reject all but two of the 11 exemption requests it received.
Kerri Farris, manager of the department’s safer chemicals program, said that there was no legal reason to let cookware avoid the state’s ban.
Applications from the cookware industry “were really focused on convenience of the nonstick surface, and rightly pointed out that there are alternatives to that,” Farris said.
The Department of Environmental Protection is also recommending the board reject exemptions for kitchen appliances, coffeemakers, electric fragrance warmers, and components in cleaning products and furniture.
Maine passed an amended law to ban PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in 2024. Starting next year, it will be illegal to sell a range of products from ski wax to cosmetics, that include intentionally added PFAS.
PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because they do not easily break down in the natural environment or living tissue. The products have been linked to serious health problems in humans, including cancer, kidney disease and low birth weight.
The Maine BBoard of Environmental Protection is weighing whether to accept those recommendations.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
