Recently, the state of California issued AB 1817, a PFAS control law, which prohibits the manufacture and sale of PFAS-containing textiles from January 1, 2025. Previously, California has issued AB 652 to prohibit the sale of PFAS-containing juvenile products, and AB 1200 to prohibit the sale of PFAS-containing food packaging. In addition, the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) has published a strategic roadmap on PFAS in October 2021, and the roadmap sets a timeline for EPA to plan specific actions and commit to bolder new policies to protect public health and protect the environment. Sales of PFAS-containing products within the regulatory scope of the U.S. will face significant difficulties.
What is PFAS
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are made up of thousands of substances that are persistent, long-range, toxic, and bioaccumulative. Evidence shows that PFAS cause global pollution to the environment, wildlife and humans, accumulate in human bodies, pose a direct threat to human health, and PFAS pollution is exacerbating the biodiversity crisis. The harm of perfluorinated compounds to human beings and the environment has attracted extensive attention from relevant countries and international organizations, and more and more perfluorinated compounds have been included or will soon be included in the control of regulations. Many states in the United States have previously issued bills to control PFAS sales bans on products including juvenile products, textiles, food packaging, and firefighting foam.