Toxic PFAS Chemicals: What You Need to Know about Minnesota's Ban on "Forever Chemicals" that are in Thousands of Products We Use Everyday
1. Minnesota-based 3M rolled out "Scotchgard" in 1948, the first of thousands of products that contain PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a class of thousands of chemicals that contain carbon-fluorine bonds. Used in much cookware, kids clothing, cosmetics and other products, the chemicals do not break down in the environment, and the company's own research showed that they are implicated in some cancers and reproductive, developmental and immune system issues. It is now illegal in Minnesota to sell products with added PFAS in 11 categories: carpets, or rugs; cleaning products; cookware; cosmetics; dental floss; fabric treatments; juvenile products; menstruation products; textile furnishings; ski wax, upholstered furniture; and food containers. A near-total ban will take place in 2032.
2. PFAS, a class of thousands of "forever chemicals" found in many products that not only do not break down easily, they are also very mobile in air and water, traveling across continents to affect nearly all animals and humans. This past spring, the EPA set the first-ever enforceable federal limits on PFAS in drinking water, requiring water utilities to test for and treat certain PFAS in tap water. The chemicals are known to increase the risk of cancer, weaken immune systems, and disrupt children's cognitive development, according to the esteemed Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS/USA.org). Removing PFAS from the environment costs between $1 and $100 million per pound, while purchasing the chemicals is only around $50 to $1,000 per pound, and over a million tons of PFAS are produced globally each year. Minnesota, in anticipating the EPA news release, has already prepared for lower contaminant levels.
3. Minnesota is a leader in fighting against PFAS at the source by identifying and prohibiting them in consumer products, rather than relying solely on ongoing societal cost burdens of increasing healthcare and treatment costs. Decades' worth of PFAS waste in our landfills, along with contaminated wastewater, is leaching into soil, air and groundwater, with an estimated cost of between $14 billion and $28 billion over two decades to filter out all the PFAS that flow to sewage plants. Eight Minnesota counties spray their treated landfill leachate directly onto fields, affecting groundwater, and in northern Minnesota, where leachate is sent to a sewage plant in Duluth, will ultimately be deposited into Lake Superior. St. Louis County is taking action to build its own facility to filter the PFAS out of leachate, rather than spraying the chemicals onto a field or letting them flow to Lake Superior.
4. In the early 2000s, scientists at 3M company reported to the EPA that PFAS ("forever chemicals") were turning up in the nation's sewage, according to 3M documents reviewed by the New York Times. The company's research had already found high levels of PFAS in the blood of its employees, linking exposure to birth defects, cancer and more, but the report was not made public until recently. Since sewage sludge containing flame retardants, pharmaceuticals, steroids, hormones, as well as PFAS, is widely spread on nearly 70 million acres, or about a fifth of all U.S. agricultural land, the federal government in 2024 declared it a very dangerous fertilizer, and has authorized the EPA to designate the chemicals under its Superfund authority. According to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, this allows the EPA to "address more contaminated sites, take earlier action and expedite cleanups", with costs to be borne by polluters who "threaten the health of communities."
Researched and written by Laura Raedeke
member of the NE MN Synod EcoFaith Network’s Leadership Team
Creation Care Team Chairperson, Lutheran Church of the Cross, Nisswa

Laura Raedeke
EcoFaith Network NE MN Team
Lutheran Church of the Cross, Nisswa, MN
Northeastern Minnesota Synod