Gov. Chris Sununu signed a new law last Friday that will ban the sale of added PFAS in some consumer products starting in 2027, create a new standard to hold polluters accountable, and ensure that funds received by the state from PFAS litigation will be used to provide clean water for people affected by PFAS contamination.
PFAS, a type of man-made chemical commonly used in consumer goods, are often called “forever chemicals” because of how long they persist in the body and the environment. They have been linked to a myriad of health problems, including certain types of cancers, high cholesterol, and decreased immune system function. In New Hampshire, Merrimack and communities in the Seacoast have particularly high rates of exposure from contaminated water.
The new law will prohibit PFAS in consumer items like food packaging, menstrual products, children's toys, cosmetics, textiles, carpets and more. It will also create and fund a position with the department of environmental services to enforce PFAS control measures.
The bill passed both legislative chambers with bipartisan support. Rep. Karen Ebel, the bill’s primary sponsor, described the new law as “a landmark piece of legislation.” She said her bill is unique because most of previous PFAS action in the state has been focused on remediation, especially related to the contamination from the former St. Gobain facility in Merrimack.
Ebel, chair of the house's solid waste management working group, said reducing PFAS at the source is crucial for curbing their prevalence in the waste stream.
“The use of PFAS in consumer products really affects the amount of PFAS that go into the landfills because what we throw away goes into our wastewater, which can end up in our drinking water,” she said.
Heidi Trimarco, a staff attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation focused on clean air, water, and environmental justice, praised the bill’s broad support across diverse groups.
“People who don't normally come together on environmental bills came together to support this,” she said.
But others, including advocates, said they thought business interests watered down the bill and made it less effective at keeping residents safe from PFAS exposure.
Initially introduced in the House, the bill was amended and combined with other bills in the Senate, adding in aspects related to liability and the state’s litigation. Other changes included narrowing the definition of what was considered PFAS and raising the threshold of PFAS concentration at which polluters would be liable.
Laurene Allen, a co-founder of Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water, said the law is a step in the right direction. But she described some of these changes as “appalling” and as undermining the bill’s original mission.
“By altering [the definition of PFAS], you've allowed certain PFAS to continue and literally not be called PFAS,” she said.
Under the new law, any manufacturer who releases PFAS at a concentration of 10,000 parts per trillion (PPT) into groundwater will be held liable.
Mike Wimsatt, waste management division director at the state department of environmental services, said that setting this standard will give people “a private right of action” and “more firm legal footing for getting a safe, clean water remedy if their wells were impacted,” particularly if they fall outside of the consent agreement boundary around Merrimack, in which St. Gobain has been providing clean water alternatives.
A separate bill that the governor vetoed set the standard for liability at 100 parts per trillion. While parts of that bill were included in the new law, some critics say even defining a threshold is problematic.
“What it actually did was make it harder for people to sue by setting a very high threshold that a company would have to exceed in order for you to be able to [sue them], whereas before there was none,” said Mindi Messmer, a senior research scientist Medstar Health Research Institute and former state representative from Rockingham County.
Messmer also criticized the removal of stringent labeling requirements that would make it easy for consumers to understand the PFAS in a product.
Wimsatt, the state regulator, said these changes were part of the compromise necessary to ensure the bill became a law, noting that many manufacturers and members of the chemical industries wanted even less strict regulations.
He said under the 100 ppt standard, many more facilities would be subject to the provision. Right now, only two locations in the state — the now-closed St.Gobain plant and the Textiles Coated International facility in Amherst – are known to reach the 10,000 ppt threshold.
In New Hampshire,certain PFAS cannot legally exceed between 11 and 18 ppt in drinking water. Wimsatt said PFAS are already strictly regulated in the state and concerns about changing definitions are “overstated.”
“Parts per trillion is a really low number,” he said.
But research has shown even low levels of exposure to PFAS has been linked to health risks.
Critics of the law plan on continuing fighting for stricter measures.
“We have to stop the source and close the loopholes and exemptions, because this is a massive problem,” Allen said.
