The Maine Department of Environmental Protection recommends the state push forward with a ban on toxic forever chemicals in nonstick cookware and other consumer products.
Industry representatives requested the state exempt nonstick cookware under a "currently unavoidable use" designation.
The exemption permits products with intentionally-added PFAS to be sold as its addition is "essentially for health, safety and the functioning of society" and that alternatives are unavailable to consumers.
Maine DEP recommended that the Board of Environmental Protection reject all but two of the 11 exemption requests it received.
Kerri Farris, manager of Maine DEP's Safer Chemicals Program, said that there was no legal reason to let cookware avoid the state's ban.
Applications from the cookware industry "were really focused convenience of the nonstick surface, and rightly pointed out that there are alternatives to that," Farris said.
The DEP is also recommending the board reject exemptions for kitchen appliances, coffee makers, electric fragrance warmers and components in cleaning products and furniture.
Maine passed an amended law to ban PFAS, short for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances in 2024. Starting next year, it will be illegal to sell a range of products from ski wax to cosmetics, that include intentionally-added PFAS.
PFAS are known as "forever chemicals" because they do not easily break down in the natural environment or living tissue. The products have been linked to serious health problems in humans including some cancers, kidney disease and low birth weight.
The Maine BEP is weighing whether to accept the DEP's recommendations.
