The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Monday voted to pass a bill to banning PFAS or “forever chemicals” from products people interact intimately with every day.

These chemicals, often used to keep material clean, are engineered to be heat, water and oil resistant, making them incredibly durable and useful in manufacturing. PFAS is the acronym used for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

However, their durability means they do not break down in the environment or even inside a person’s body. Research by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that PFAS has led to the biggest source of water contamination in the state and severe health complications.

An example is the drinking water in Palmerton.

Tests show that “forever chemicals” in the borough’s public drinking water are running at levels up to 12 times the federal safety standard. Josh Barber, an EPA Superfund project manager assigned to the Palmerton Zinc site, said PFAS have been detected in three of the four production wells the Palmerton Water Authority uses to supply public drinking water, representing 80% of its total production capacity.

EPA is working to remediate the Palmerton situation.

PFAS compounds have been used widely in industrial and consumer products since the 1940s and accumulate in wastewater treatment sludge.

While previous bans have been put in place, many items, from makeup to bedding to dental floss, remained unregulated. Democratic Rep. Greg Scott, who sponsored this bill and represents a district in Montgomery County, hopes that it will address this gap and make sure the manufacturers making the products “which come in contact with the most sensitive parts of our body,” are held accountable.

“Frankly, there’s no reason for it (PFAS),” Scott said. “There are alternatives that manufactures could use that don’t risk cancer or reproductive harm.”

Most legislators are like-minded, with the bill passing unanimously in both the House Appropriations and House Consumer Protection, Technology & Utilities committees before reaching the chamber floor.

However, the vote saw an end to this complete bipartisan agreement, with 13 dissenting votes by Republican representatives.

For those heavily invested in the success of the bill, one can only hope these 13 votes are not a precursor to worse resistance in the Republican controlled Senate.

Steve Hvozdovich, the Pennsylvania campaigns director of Clean Water Action, has been working with Scott on this ban and is one of these people. Finding it “extremely disappointing” that even legislation with overwhelming support can get held up in the Republican Senate, Hvozdovich calls for legislatures to stop messing around.

“Quite frankly, I think it’s a shame if they’re playing politics with these bills given the impact they can have on Pennsylvanians,” Hvozdovich said. “This should be a bipartisan issue in wanting to protect the health of residents and Pennsylvanians from contamination.”

Regardless of what happens in the Senate, Republican Rep. Natalie Mihalek is a co-sponsor of the bill and proof that this issue hits close to home for both parties.

“Moms are actually passing these chemicals onto their babies in the womb,” Mihalek said. “The reality in this country is that we are being bombarded every single day by a cocktail of chemicals we did not consent to.”

While some manufacturers and special interest groups voice that these health concerns are fraudulent, studies by the National Institutes of Health, Stanford University, Yale University, the National Science Foundation — among others — disagree, revealing that PFAS can be directly related to reduced fertility rates, early onset cancer and impaired immune responses.

Fortunately for manufacturers who rely on PFAS for their chemical stability and durability, the bill leaves time for businesses to adjust and change their manufacturing practices before the ban is set in place.

By JULIA KRAMER | The Center Square