This commentary is by Jane Hendley of Burlington, a longtime activist and a member of the Burlington branch of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
Vermont’s new law, S.20, prohibits the use, manufacture and sale of firefighting foam containing PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) except where required by federal law. It also prohibits the manufacture and sale of food packaging, rugs, carpets, aftermarket stain- water-resistant treatments, and ski wax containing PFAS and other chemicals of concern.
PFAS are a group of manmade chemicals that have been around since the 1940s. They have very good water-resistant properties and have been put in a wide variety of common consumer products — such as a water and stain repellent — as well as in firefighting foam.
But ever since they were created, they have been linked to health and pollution problems around the world, including the United States, with the Chesapeake Bay having some of the worst contamination. Firefighting foam containing PFAS, first used by the Navy in the 1960s, has been a major source of pollution of waterways. They have been found in the drinking water of more than 2,000 communities.
In Vermont, PFAS manufactured by the former ChemFab factory has contaminated wells in North Bennington. At the landfill in Coventry, a lot of PFAS has been found in leachate from discarded furniture, rugs and clothes. In the Champlain Valley, PFAS contamination of groundwater and surface water from firefighting foam has been traced to use by the Vermont Air National Guard.
The chemicals have been the subject of many lawsuits. They have an extremely strong chemical bonds and don’t break down by natural means. They have been linked to several types of cancers and other health problems and to tumors in animals. Almost everyone carries traces of PFAS in their bodies.
Several countries have banned or restricted PFAS use, and safer alternatives are available. Vermont is the ninth state to restrict their use.
The federal government has struggled with the issue. The Food and Drug Administration has reached agreements with some companies to phase out manufacture of some of the PFAS chemicals and some companies have done so voluntarily, but other PFAS chemicals remain in use. The Environmental Protection Agency has also taken some action to study and regulate them. There is also pending legislation in Congress.
But the Department of Defense and Federal Aviation Administration still require their use in firefighting foam, which is unconscionable.
S.20 is a milestone in the regulation of dangerous chemicals in Vermont but doesn’t go far enough regarding restrictions on PFAS chemicals. The law should be amended in the next Legislature to totally ban their use, manufacture and sale in Vermont, including their use in firefighting foam, and to regulate cleanup of contaminated sites.
