"As US states increasingly pass laws to limit PFAS chemicals in consumer products, a debate is heating up over a California bill that proposes banning the sale of cookware with intentionally added “forever chemicals” beginning in 2030.
The bill, SB 682, would also prohibit the sale of cleaning products, dental floss, food packaging and other products with intentionally added PFAS beginning in January 2028.
Nonstick cookware is often coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a fluoropolymer also called Teflon and one of thousands of chemicals that belong to the class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), some of which have been linked to health impacts including cancers, immune system problems and reproductive issues. PFAS are often called forever chemicals for their persistence in the environment.
The bill’s supporters argue that PTFE from cookware adds to the flow of forever chemicals in household waste, adding to the costly public burden of treating PFAS-tainted wastewater. Further, they point to recent research on possible reproductive health harms from exposure and suggest ongoing PTFE production continues a decades-long legacy of polluting communities where Teflon is made."
Shannon Kelleher reports for The New Lede September 29, 2025.
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