Vermont
Bill aims to keep PFAs out of feminine hygiene products
BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – This spring, Vermont passed the country’s most restrictive ban on toxic chemicals in period products. Experts told Channel 3 about how you can shop smart and urge big brands to adapt.
With so many styles, sizes, and prices on the shelf, shopping for period products can be a deeply personal and tricky experience. Add chemicals to the mix, and your selection can be downright dangerous.
“[These are chemicals] nobody should be having to be using in their products in such a sensitive area,” said Lauren Hierl of Vermont Conservation Voters.
Chemicals like PFAs, lead, and formaldehyde have been found in a range of period products.
Studies show these chemicals can create a host of health problems from asthma to fertility issues to cancer.
Scientist Alexandra Scranton with Women’s Voices for the Earth says there’s limited research on what happens when chemicals are absorbed through products like tampons or pads, but it raises a lot of concerns.
“If you’re using a product vaginally or through vulvar skin, it is very connected to your reproductive system. There are chemicals that can go straight to your uterus,” said Scranton.
This spring, Vermont outlawed fourteen toxic chemicals from period products and cosmetics, effective January 1, 2026.
Hierl advocated for the ban.
“Our goal is that nobody should have to be shopping around. You shouldn’t have to be checking labels at the store and trying to make sure you’re not buying a contaminated product,” said Hierl.
But shopping around is exactly what consumers will need to do until the ban goes into effect.
Scranton says one of the best ways to avoid chemicals is to choose a product with few ingredients, free of things like dyes or fragrances.
“Look for something really simple that has simple ingredients, you know listed on the label. That’s going to reduce exposure overall,” she said.
If you’re still unsure whether a product is safe, Scranton says contacting the manufacturer is another way to get answers and push for change.
“Calling companies, emailing companies, asking them questions about their ingredients…This is the most important tool that we have collectively to get safer products,” said Scranton.
As for what shopping will look like in two years, Hierl and Scranton believe Vermont’s ban will push many popular companies to phase out certain chemicals.
“It usually snowballs. Like, once one state passes it, it starts to spread,” said Hierl.
Experts say the next step is making sure that any chemicals replacing those banned in Vermont are safe swaps.
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Vermont
21-year-old killed in wrong-way crash on I-89 in Vermont; other driver cited
A 21-year-old is dead after a pickup truck slammed head-on into her vehicle on Interstate 89 Wednesday evening in Bolton, Vermont, and the other driver involved has been cited.
State police say they responded around 5:22 p.m. to reports of a wrong-way driver in the area of mile marker 71. As troopers were responding, a multi-vehicle crash on the interstate was reported to dispatchers.
A preliminary investigation shows 45-year-old Timothy Wooster was driving a Toyota Tundra in the northbound lane when he crossed the median into the southbound lane, where he continued traveling the wrong way until he collided head-on with a Kia Sportage that was being driven by 21-year-old Hailey Westcot, police said.
A third vehicle, a Cascadia Freightliner, was traveling southbound when the head-on collision happened ahead, causing the vehicle to strike Westcot’s car and then rollover.
Westcot, of Northfield, Vt., was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Wooster, of Jericho, Vt., was taken to University of Vermont Medical Center to be treated for serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
The third driver who was involved, 50-year-old Douglas Bailey, of Londonderry, New Hampshire, was evaluated on scene and did not report any injuries, police added.
Officials haven’t said what led Wooster to allegedly drive in the wrong direction on the highway. Wooster was cited on a charge of grossly negligent operation with death resulting. Further charges will be determined as the investigation continues, according to police.
Any witnesses are asked to contact Trooper Shawn Morrow at 802-878-7111. Anonymous tips can be submitted online here. The investigation remains ongoing.
It’s unclear if Wooster has obtained legal representation at this time. He’s due in Chittenden County Superior Court on Jan. 29, 2026.
Vermont
UVM men’s rugby team wins first-ever national championship – VTDigger
The University of Vermont men’s rugby team romped the University of Chicago last weekend, 71-5, to win its first-ever national championship. It’s the second time, notably, that a UVM sports team has won a national-level title in the past year.
Rugby is not a varsity sport at UVM — such as soccer or basketball — which means the school’s men’s and women’s teams play outside of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA. The men’s team plays in National Collegiate Rugby’s Division II, which has more than 100 teams in different regional conferences across the country.
The team’s win Sunday capped an undefeated season that also saw it dispatch rivals in earlier rounds of the Division II tournament by double-digit margins.
“It really hasn’t even set in yet, still. Every time I see a picture or something, I’m like, holy — I can’t believe it,” said Jack Worobel, a senior mechanical engineering major at UVM who plays in the No. 4, or “lock,” position. “It’s awesome.”
In UVM’s rugby league, 15 players are on the field for each team at a time. Players advance the ball by running or kicking it but aren’t allowed to pass the ball forward. Points come primarily through “tries,” which are worth five points each and scored by bringing the ball into the opponent’s in-goal area and touching it to the ground.
Worobel credited UVM’s win to strong bonds that he said he and his teammates have built up over the past four years. A number of the players, including himself, have been on the team every year since they were first-year students, he said.
UVM has had a men’s rugby team since 1970, according to a school press release.
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“We all do anything for each other. Anyone would do a favor for anyone else on this team — I think that’s where the win comes (from),” Worobel said Wednesday. “It’s not from the skill or the talents. Really, it’s what’s off the field.”
The rugby team’s win comes about a year after UVM’s men’s soccer team — which competes at the highest level of collegiate athletics — won the NCAA Division I championship last December. UVM has also won six NCAA championships in skiing, with the most recent coming in 2012.
Vermont
Police investigating after ATV stolen from Vt. driveway
Police are asking for the public’s help in their ongoing investigation into a stolen all-terrain vehicle in Derby, Vermont.
State police say they were notified around 4 p.m. on Oct. 31 that a Camouflage 2008 Yamaha Rhino 700 ATV had been stolen from a driveway on Main St. The theft occurred some time between 10 p.m. on Oct. 30 and 7 a.m. on Oct. 31.
No other details were immediately available. Police did released two photos as part of the investigation.
Anyone with information about this theft is encouraged to call Vermont State Police at 802-334-8881, or leave an anonymous tip online.
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