Senate Bill S461

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S461

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
prohibiting industrial uses of products or substances containing
perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl

 
PURPOSE:

To prohibit the use of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in
industrial plants

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill states no person shall use in an industrial
plant any product or substance that contains perfluoroalkyl and poly-
fluoroalkyl substances and defines "industrial plant" as having the same
meaning as Chapter 43-A, Article 8, Title 8, Subtitle 1, Section 1801.

Section 2 of the bill states the effective date
              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

"Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances" or "PFAS" are considered
"forever chemicals", meaning, their molecular structure makes them high-
ly resistant to breakdown and thereby they wind up in most of our water
sources. As of 2015, an estimated 25,600 metric tons of PFAS are either
produced in or imported to the United States on an annual basis.

PFAS compounds are commonly used in the production of many commonly used
consumer products including cleaning products, food packaging, non-stick
cookware, paints, rugs and stain resistance/waterproof fabrics. The
intentional use of PFAS is often used to gain a specific characteristic
or appearance of the product.

As we have seen throughout many of our communities, the impact of PFAS
in our drinking water can be devastating and costly to mitigate. New
York led the nation in our drinking water testing law that set the limit
for certain PFAS compounds at 10 parts per trillion. If any water system
exceeds the limit, they must invest in technology that reduces the pres-
ence of PFAS to an acceptable level. While this is necessary, it does
not make sense to remedy contaminated water systems while allowing the
contamination to continue. New York must now take steps to clean up our
environment by addressing the sources of contamination and phasing out
the use of PFAS in products altogether.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.7041 of 2023-2024 (Hoylman-Sigal): Died in Environmental Conservation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.