Maine
Maine businesses push back on disclosing whether their products have PFAS
Whether or not or not corporations will get extra time to make public if they’ve poisonous “without end chemical compounds” of their merchandise is up for debate this legislative session.
As of Jan. 1, corporations needed to report back to the state the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, often called PFAS, of their merchandise. Corporations have identified about this authorized requirement — the primary of its form within the nation — for greater than a 12 months and a half, and lots of began testing product parts months in the past to fulfill the deadline.
However at an power and environmental discussion board on Thursday, some stated the enterprise group has discovered it unworkable to adjust to the regulation attributable to an absence of laboratory capability and the time it takes to check product parts. There are at the moment no laboratories in Maine accredited to research samples for PFAS, so companies should depend on out-of-state laboratories.
Some lawmakers, nevertheless, consider that requiring corporations to disclose whether or not there are PFAS of their merchandise bought in Maine is a vital step to work towards the state’s objective of banning PFAS in merchandise by 2030.
“It is acceptable to place strain on everybody to take part within the reporting of PFAS of their merchandise,” stated Sen. Stacy Brenner, D-Scarborough, at E2Tech’s 131st Maine Legislature Power and Environmental Preview panel dialogue in Augusta on Thursday.
On the occasion, lawmakers and stakeholders debated legislative priorities on environmental and power points, together with PFAS, renewable power, air emissions, internet power billing and power storage.
Whereas the brand new regulation to mandate that corporations report the PFAS of their merchandise will seemingly get one other look by the Maine Legislature this legislative session, it’s not but identified how it could be amended. Twenty completely different PFAS-related payments have been proposed this session however not but fleshed out.
In October, the Bangor Each day Information reported that the Maine Division of Environmental Safety had granted six-month extensions to 1,010 corporations, commerce associations and nonprofits after requests from lobbying teams. The lobbying teams succeeded in getting approval for scores of their members, a few of whom had already submitted their PFAS info and didn’t want an extension.
Since then, the division has granted extra extensions for a complete of greater than 2,000 entities.
Brenner didn’t talk about the accepted extensions, however she stated PFAS evaluation is a high precedence for the Legislature’s setting and pure assets committee, of which she is co-chair. The state has spent $100 million to deal with the consequences of PFAS and implement new rules to date, Brenner stated.
Brenner spoke on a panel with Rep. Dick Campbell, R-Orrington; Pete Didisheim, a lobbyist for the Pure Sources Council of Maine; and Ben Lucas, a lobbyist for the Maine State Chamber of Commerce.
Small companies are discovering it difficult and dear to check their merchandise, Campbell stated. He is aware of of a small enterprise that needed to pay $10,000, he stated.
PFAS contamination is a vital subject, Campbell stated, however individuals are solely beginning to perceive the well being results of the chemical compounds, and complying with the brand new necessities will take extra time.
“Many states are taking a look at us to see how we deal with this in a method that’s accountable,” he stated concerning the obligatory PFAS reporting regulation.
PFAS chemical compounds have been related to severe sicknesses, comparable to elevated danger of kidney most cancers, decreased toddler and fetal development, and decreased immunity. They’re a gaggle of 1000’s of human-made chemical compounds that accumulate within the setting, meals chain and folks’s our bodies when consumed.
The chamber, which represents Maine companies, desires to be part of the answer, Lucas stated. However it additionally believes it has been difficult for corporations to adjust to the brand new requirement, he stated.
“We don’t have the laboratory capability or the expertise to check for all of this, and the enterprise group wants extra time to adjust to this regulation,” Lucas stated.
He spoke to a enterprise with a whole bunch of merchandise to check, and the closest laboratory it discovered was in Pennsylvania, the place it could take seven to eight months to get outcomes, Lucas stated.
Corporations are in search of methods to switch PFAS in on a regular basis, important merchandise, however it’s going to take time, he stated.
The state has been working to extend laboratory capability to check for the chemical compounds, Brenner stated. The Legislature has allotted funds within the state funds to extend testing capability.
“Maine could have two new labs this 12 months, and one might be thought-about for well being monitoring as nicely, comparable to blood checks,” she stated.
She agreed that guidelines might be improved for small companies, however she additionally famous that concern from the enterprise group at massive is about having to report the poisonous chemical compounds in any respect.
Others consider corporations and companies have to act faster to adjust to the regulation to report and ultimately remove the usage of deliberately added PFAS in merchandise.
“There’s nothing flawed with being first within the nation if the remainder of the nation isn’t transferring ahead on this,” Didisheim stated.
Mehr Sher is a Report for America corps member. Further help for this reporting is supplied by the Unity Basis and donations by BDN readers.