Catch the latest updates on what’s happening with PFAS in the Great Lakes region. Check back for more PFAS news roundups every other week on our website.
On March 5, Canada released its final State of PFAS report, and announced that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) would be added to the toxic substances list. This does not outright ban PFAS, but it does restrict “forever chemicals.” According to reporting from CBC, the government will first look at restricting the substances in firefighting foams, eventually getting to their use in non-prescription drugs, food packaging, textiles, building materials and cleaning products. A 60-day consultation period has started, which is required before the government can officially add these chemicals to the toxic substances list.
Nearly 75% of firefighter deaths are related to occupational cancer. In 2021, Illinois state lawmakers passed a bill to eliminate a type of firefighting foam with PFAS (known to cause cancer) by establishing civil penalties for anyone failing to comply with the ban, along with a disposal program. Now, House Bill 2409, aims to eliminate the sale of turnout gear with PFAS, which passed unanimously out of the House Police & Fire Committee and will move to the House floor.
The partisan stalemate over PFAS cleanup in Wisconsin continues, as Gov. Tony Evers and state Sen. Eric Wimberger (R-Oconto) put out “dueling proposals.” As explained by Wisconsin Watch, Evers’ bill would only absolve residential and agricultural properties, ending in 2036. The Republican draft bills would prevent the Department of Natural Resources from enforcing the spills law “when the responsible party qualifies as an innocent landowner and allow the department to clean up its property at its own expense.” More on these proposals here.
On March 7, a divided Michigan Supreme Court issued an order, instructing the Michigan Court of Appeals to consider a complicated case involving chemical giant 3M and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE). 3M is challenging a rule drafted in 2019, before EGLE adopted its final standards in 2020.
A federal judge denied a motion for a preliminary injunction, filed by the Cookware Sustainability Alliance, that aimed to bar the enforcement of Minnesota’s ban on intentionally added PFAS in consumer products. Meanwhile, two bills passed a Minnesota state House committee, which would narrow the state’s ban on PFAS by exempting or delaying prohibitions in certain products and in specific items such as children’s snowmobiles, ATVs and e-bikes.
Meanwhile, recent reporting from the Minnesota Reformer explains how Minnesota has one of the highest rates of cancer in the country, with more than 37,000 residents likely to receive a cancer diagnosis in 2025. Counties located in Minnesota’s farmland have seen a rise in new diagnoses since the mid-2000s. While the cause is still unknown and requires further investigation, exposure to PFAS in sewage sludge and in various pesticides are called into question.
More PFAS news in case you missed it:
- A Tennessee bill, backed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, aims to prevent state agencies from creating new regulations for chemicals in hazardous waste or drinking water Tennessee.
- EPA Administrator, Lee Zeldin, used to represent New York’s first congressional district. Now, according to the New York Post, many Long Island’s water providers (in Zeldin’s old district) along with two water utilities groups, have filed a federal lawsuit aiming to overturn the EPA’s PFAS limits established last April.
- Actor Mark Ruffalo penned an op-ed in The Guardian, about the crisis around “forever chemicals.” After he made the film, Dark Waters, he testified before Congress about the seriousness of PFAS contamination. “At the time, my testimony focused on what had happened in West Virginia. But this isn’t just West Virginia’s story. It’s happening all over the country, and it’s affecting all of us,” he said.
- A new study links PFAS exposure to impaired structure and function of placenta. Small placentas correlate to malnourishment and lack of oxygen in the womb, and are also associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases later in life.
- Chemical exposure or bioaccumulation of PFAS or PCBs are known to suppress the immune system, in humans and animals. A recent study out of Nature establishes a potential correlation between PFAS and PCB exposure with disease development or progression of multiple sclerosis.
Featured image: PFAS foam on a beach near the decommissioned Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Iosco County, Mich. (Great Lakes Now Episode 1025)
