BURSTNew Mexico is poised to become the third state to institute a full-fledged ban on products that contain toxic "forever chemicals," as two key bills head to the governor's desk.
The concurrent pieces of legislation, which have both passed through the state Legislature, would prohibit most items that contain these compounds, while also deeming specific types of discarded firefighting foam as hazardous waste.
The chemicals in question, called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are notorious for their propensity to linger in the human body and in the environment. Linked to various types of cancers and other serious illnesses, PFAS are found in numerous household products, as well as in certain kinds of firefighting foam.
The first bill, H.B. 212, would ban products that contain intentionally added PFAS and would authorize the state's Environmental Improvement Board to adopt relevant rules.
Starting on Jan. 1, 2027, manufacturers would not be able to sell or distribute cookware, food packaging, dental floss and juvenile products that have intentionally added PFAS. The same would apply to carpets, cleaning fluids, cosmetics, fabric treatments, menstrual products, textiles, ski wax and upholstered furniture on Jan. 1, 2028.
With respect to pesticides, fertilizers and other agricultural materials — many of which contain PFAS — the Environmental Improvement Board would consult with the New Mexico Department of Agriculture before setting rules on these subjects.
There would be some exceptions to the prospective ban, such as those items that the board has determined "to be essential for health, safety or the functioning of society and for which alternatives are not reasonably available."
The accompanying piece of legislation, H.B. 140, focuses on a range of chemicals, including PFAS, and provides new clarity on the meaning of the term "hazardous waste."
The bill would redefine hazardous waste as "any solid waste or combination of solid wastes" that because of its amount, concentration or characteristics could "cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness."
Among the specific hazardous waste items mentioned is "discarded aqueous film-forming foam containing intentionally added [PFAS]."
If Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signs the two bills as anticipated, New Mexico would become the third state to implement a near-complete prohibition on PFAS-containing products.
The state would follow in the footsteps of Maine and Minnesota, which passed their respective laws in 2021 and 2023. Numerous other states have approved legislation forbidding PFAS in certain product categories, rather than instituting bans across the board.
While the three-year price of preventing PFAS pollution via such a ban would climb to about $2.8 million, the cost of removing and destroying just one pound of PFAS from water could be up to $18 million, according to an analysis of the legislation from the New Mexico Environment Department.
"With approximately 1,100 public drinking water systems in New Mexico serving 94 percent of our residents, preventing contamination is the only affordable means of securing our drinking water supply," the analysis concluded.