State boosts PFAS-free products

ENVIRONMENT

‘Forever chemical’ ban broadens Jan. 1, but local manufacturers have already ended use

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Katrina Kessler, right, speaks during a news conference at Sigma Cosmetics in Mendota Heights on Monday, explaining a soon-to-be-implemented state ban on “forever chemicals” from a wide range of products including cosmetics, cookware and bedding. Joining Kessler are, from left, Wendy Underwood, deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Health, Jon Crawford, the director of supply chain for Nordic Ware, and Steevie Brown, director of product making for Faribault Mill. ALEX DEROSIER ? PIONEER PRESS

Image

By Alex Derosier

aderosier@pioneerpress.com

Minnesota will soon take another step to restrict the use of “forever chemicals” in an expanded list of consumer goods as the state moves toward a virtual ban by 2032.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, collectively known as PFAS, are a family of thousands of chemicals that have come under increased scrutiny in recent decades as studies have tied them to negative health effects in humans, including heightened risk of cancer and hormonal interference.

“Drinking water can be one source of exposure and there’s been a lot of news about this, but consumer products, especially products that are resistant to grease or oil, stains and water can be an even greater source of exposure,” said Minnesota Deputy Health Commissioner Wendy Underwood at a Monday news conference recognizing companies that are already in compliance with the law or taken steps to do so.

Starting on Jan. 1, 2025, a new law will take effect that’ll ban PFAS from 11 products ranging from cookware to cosmetics to bedding. Some Minnesota companies say they are already compliant with the ban, including a group that got together with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on Monday at the offices of Sigma Beauty in Mendota Heights to highlight their PFAS-free products.Nordic Ware, Sigma Beauty, Faribault Mill

Among them was St. Louis Park-based cookware maker Nordic Ware, widely known for its Bundt cake pans. The company says its baking products didn’t contain PFAS, but some of its other cooking products like pans did until just a few months ago.

Jon Crawford, director of supply chain with the company, said the company wanted to get ahead of the Minnesota ban and started finding substitutes for the “forever chemicals,” which are often used for their non-stick properties. Nordic Ware finished eliminating PFAS from its cookware in June, Crawford said.

Other Minnesota-based manufacturers including Sigma Beauty and Faribault Mill, a Faribault-based maker of blankets and bedding, said they haven’t used PFAS in their products to begin with.

In a video produced with the Pollution Control Agency, Sigma founder and CEO Simone Xavier said her company had never used PFAS, but has needed to be more conscious about chemical additives in the past.

“We never have had PFAS in our makeup, but we have a list of 100 ingredients that we banned, so we did have to reformulate a lot of our products, recertify them. So there was a cost involved,” she said. “It’s where the industry is going, and it’s an investment that will have a return.”

PFAS have already been identified in many Minnesota water sources, with much of them in the eastern part of the metro, where 3M manufactured the substances for use in products ranging from nonstick cookware to firefighting foam. But state officials say more needs to be done to eliminate other sources of the chemicals.

What will be banned?

Minnesota already has a ban on PFAS in things like food wrappers that went into effect in 2024.

In January, the chemicals will be banned from more products including: Carpets or rugs, cleaning products, cookware, cosmetics, dental floss, fabric treatments, juvenile products, menstruation products, textile furnishings, ski wax and upholstered furniture.

The expanded ban comes from 2023 legislation state lawmakers called “Amara’s Law,” named for a 20-year-old woman who grew up in the east metro suburb of Oakdale and died in 2023 after a five-year battle with a rare and aggressive cancer she said was tied to PFAS.

Eventually, the state will ban PFAS from all products unless a company can prove to the state that there’s no unavoidable use.

Enforcing the ban

MPCA Commissioner Katrina Kessler said her agency has experience enforcing restrictions on chemicals in other products, such as the ban on toxic lead and cadmium in products for children.

To enforce the bans, the agency buys products suspected of containing restricted chemicals and tests for their presence. If they’re detected, the agency will take action, including fines and civil penalties.

Asked if she expects her agency to take frequent enforcement action, or if any companies have told the state that the new regulations will be too much of a burden, Kessler said she doesn’t see any serious issues on the horizon.

“Based on the law that takes effect January 2025 we are expecting that people will comply,” she said. “We have heard from people that they’re working on it, and I think it’s great to highlight the leadership of others up here in Minnesota specifically.”