What does the new legislation do?

The Protecting Against Forever Chemicals Act prohibits the sale of carpets, fabric treatment, cosmetics and food packaging that use intentionally added PFAS. It excludes products that get tainted by PFAS in the manufacturing process. The ban will take effect in January of 2028.

The law also requires cookware manufacturers to include warning labels when PFAS was used to manufacture their products. Penalties for violating the act could range from $1,000 to $25,000.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will also use $5 million to research, monitor and eliminate PFAS across the state.

Adams said while he applauds the new measure, he wishes the law went further.

“There are other products that are not covered by this bill that should have PFAS removed from them completely as part of a broader effort to remove PFAS from our environment,” said Adams. “Other states have passed larger-scale bills, but this is a phenomenal start in removing PFAS that, once enforced, will be incredibly beneficial to the health of every Jerseyan.”

Are PFAS-free alternatives available for household products?

There are more than 500 PFAS-free alternatives, according to a 2024 National Library of Medicine paper, and 164 major brands have already committed to removing these toxins from their products.

Do other states ban PFAS products?

New Jersey is the first state in the region to ban products containing “forever chemicals.”

However, more than a dozen states have passed similar legislation.

What products contain PFAS?

A number of household products contain PFAS, including pots and pans, microwave popcorn bags, waterproof clothing and boots, stain-resistant carpet, cosmetics and food packaging.

“These chemicals have become sort of ubiquitous in our home and work environment,” said Dr. Richard Hamilton, chair and professor of emergency medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine. “The problem with PFAS is that the chemicals are present in things that we have purchased many years ago, and they remain there.”

The chemicals can leach into household environments through air or dust, said Robert Laumbach, associate professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Justice at the Rutgers School of Public Health.

“Some of those [PFAS] are actually volatile and evaporate into the air, and then others can be particles of dust or the wear products of carpet fibers and so on that can get into the air and then we breathe them,” he said.

The chemicals are used in the manufacturing process because they can make products water and oil resistant, and they don’t break down chemically or by heat, Laumbach said. He said some products don’t intentionally contain PFAS, but are contaminated during the manufacturing process.

Hospitals in the Philadelphia area had a pretty quiet weekend, but now staff say they’re seeing a growing number of injuries, including many from falls on ice.

Susan Petrucelli was in the emergency department at Virtua Voorhees after falling on ice outside her home in South Jersey. 

“It all looked like snow, but it was all ice, it was all frozen over,” the 61-year-old said. “I  guess I just slipped and I went down and I hit my face on the side of my car.”

Fortunately, imaging showed no broken bones, but she has plenty of bruises.

“You could see the crack in the ice where my head hit,” Petrucelli said.

Dr. Alan Shubert with Virtual Health said injuries like this are common during winter weather. 

“Most of the time it’s wrists and ankles, people falling, and putting their hands out to catch themselves,” Shubert said. “Hip injuries and broken hips, the third most common thing we see.”

Shubert said people should be extra careful with the icy conditions expected to last for a while. 

“Try to have good footwear on, and avoid if you can, I think, the really icy areas and try to stick to the snow areas, that may be less slippery and give you more traction,” Shubert said.

Shoveling is also causing issues, he said. 

Three people in Lehigh County died shoveling during the storm, the coroner said. 

“We get anything as simple as kind of back strains from the shoveling to, unfortunately, as serious as people having heart attacks,” Shubert said.

The doctor said people who aren’t in good shape should not shovel snow, and even those who are in shape often suffer from achy backs, shoulders and legs.

“We recommend resting, using heat, using some ibuprofen or Tylenol,” Shubert said. 

Finally, Shubert said people should be careful with snow blowers, as hand injuries often happen when people try to clear them without turning them off. 

A South Jersey school district is being sued for allegedly refusing to release settlement agreements in lawsuits tied to sexual abuse by a former teacher now serving a prison sentence.

John Paff, who publishes the government-transparency site Transparency NJ, filed the public-records lawsuit against the Lawrence Township Board of Education after it denied his request for copies of settlement agreements in three civil cases.

Paff said he is seeking only the financial terms and believes victims’ names can be redacted.

“I don’t care about any of that,” Paff said. “I just want to know how much money [the school board] paid.”

He added that he routinely requests such agreements without issue.

“I ask for these settlement agreements routinely, like every week, and I get them without anybody ever denying them,” Paff said.

The underlying lawsuits stem from allegations that Derek Hildreth, a former Lawrence Township teacher and coach, sexually abused students in the late 1990s and early 2000s — allegations that led to criminal charges and a prison term.

Hildreth was sentenced in 2013 to 20 years in state prison under a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to four counts, including three first-degree aggravated sexual assault charges and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

As part of the agreement, 29 additional charges were dismissed.

At least six victims were included in a 33-count indictment against Hildreth, who initially faced 30 years in state prison.

Hildreth is eligible for parole in 2028, according to New Jersey prison records.

The abuse spurred three lawsuits filed in 2012, 2017 and 2020.

Paff contends the settlement agreements in these cases are government records subject to disclosure under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act. In the lawsuit, he says the board rejected his request by citing exemptions for victims’ records.

In a written response to Paff, the district’s records official said the school board does not have a copy of the settlement from the 2020 lawsuit and that documents in the other two cases are protected by a non-disclosure clause and potentially, a confidentiality order.

The case asks a judge to decide whether settlement agreements resolving lawsuits against a public school district must be released under OPRA with appropriate redactions.

The school board did not immediately respond to a request for comment.