Forever Chemicals Face Sweeping Bans as States Pass PFAS Laws in 2025

January 22, 2026

Read the full article by Daniel Kampf (MultiState)

"At the end of each year, our policy analysts share insights on the issues that have been at the forefront of state legislatures throughout the session during their review of thousands of bills across all 50 states. Here are the big developments and high-level trends we saw last year in the PFAS policy space, plus what you can expect in 2026.

The introduction and passage of legislation addressing perfluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has been a priority for states across the country for the last several years. PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” do not break down naturally, can accumulate over time, are toxic at small levels, and are found in a wide range of consumer products such as food packaging, cookware, textile articles, cleaning products, cosmetic products, dental floss, juvenile products, menstruation products, upholstered furniture, and various other products used by consumers each day. PFAS are also found in plastics, drinking water, and firefighter personal protective equipment (PPE) and firefighting foam.

States are addressing this issue via bans or restrictions on PFAS in consumer products and in firefighting PPE and firefighting foam, through funding of PFAS remediation projects in the water supply and on military installations, and by creating studies to address the broad impacts of PFAS. During the 2025 legislative session, nearly 350 bills addressing PFAS were considered in 39 states."