How a PFAS Ban in California Could Make Forever Chemicals Illegal

Could this new bill mean saying goodbye to forever chemicals… forever?

avatar   |  
Updated:
Image of someone cooking onions with a traditional nonstick pan on a glass stovetop, with tomatoes on a cutting board next to them.
If this new bill is passed, nonstick cookware made with PFAS would become illegal in California.Credit: Unsplash Getty Images

California is on the brink of becoming the next state to ban the sale of consumer products made with PFAS. The state will follow Colorado, Connecticut, and Minnesota in banning the toxic “forever chemicals” that were once omnipresent in nonstick cookware and are still used in products like dental floss and plastic food packaging.

Senate Bill 682, authored by Senator Ben Allen, cleared the California State Assembly on Friday, September 12, with 41 assembly members voting in favor of the bill and 19 voting against1. The bill then quickly passed amendments in the Senate. As the next step, Governor Gavin Newsom now has until October 12 to sign the bill.

How the Bill Helps Eradicate PFAS

“No one should be exposed to toxic PFAS just from cooking dinner or cleaning their home,” said Susan Little, California legislative director of the Environmental Working Group, a co-sponsor of the bill2. “This bill is a long overdue step toward protecting Californians from unnecessary exposure to ‘forever chemicals’ in everyday products.”

This bill is the latest endeavor by the state to completely eradicate PFAS. California PFAS bans already exist when it comes to producing textiles, cosmetics, paper-based food packaging, menstrual products, and firefighting foam. If enacted, the new bill would ban the sale of all consumer goods containing added PFAS beginning in 2028, with one exception: Companies will have until 2030 to remove the substances from cookware.

California policies often drive national standards, inciting companies to reformulate their products rather than produce one item for California and another for the rest of the nation. With any luck, this bill could ultimately point towards fewer PFAS in consumer goods nationwide.

PFAS Are Everywhere

Image of a PFAS nonstick pan from a side view, showcasing the handle and its glass lid.
Nonstick cookware is a major offender when it comes to PFAS chemicals, and this new bill would require companies to manufacture products without these toxins. – Credit: Pexels Sternsteiger Stahlwaren

PFAS like PTFE and PFOA were first authorized by the FDA in the 1960s, but their safety has come into question after decades of research. One overarching issue is their persistence in the environment, which has earned them their “forever chemicals” nickname. According to Le Monde, “their extreme persistence in the environment […] makes PFAS an eternal threat3.”

Scott Belcher, professor of environmental toxicology and director of North Carolina State’s Oceans and Human Health Center, agrees. “[PFAS] are highly fluorinated, purely synthetic chemicals, and have a chemistry that had never existed on the planet until towards the end of World War II. That is partially why they’re so difficult to break down and so challenging to remove,” Belcher tells TIME4. “They’re really in absolutely everything globally at this point.”

Unfortunately for us, “absolutely everything” includes the human body. Research shows that PFAS can leach into food5 or even be absorbed through skin contact6. And once they’re in our systems, they exhibit similar persistence as in the environment. One 2015 report from the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found PFAS were present in the blood of 97% of Americans7.

The Risks of Continued PFAS Exposure

If it wasn’t already clear, all of this is bad news because these chemicals are highly toxic to our health. Researchers from Yale found that PFAS promoted cancer cell migration8, while 2024 research from Sweden published in Environment International perceived a link between exposure to PFAS and increased risk of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer9. 

Image of a PTFE nonstick pan being used to fry an egg on a stovetop.
Cooking your food in pans made with PFAS like PTFE could have serious negative effects on your health. – Credit: Pexels Amina Fillkins

A 2025 study from USC published in Environment International also found links between PFAS and poor liver health10, and they’ve even been shown to be detrimental to immune health11 and the body’s metabolism (especially for women!). 

As always, pregnant women need to be even more careful. PFAS exposure during pregnancy has been found to negatively impact fetal health12 and early childhood development. A 2025 study in Environmental Research also found that early exposure to PFAS could impact the effectiveness of common childhood vaccines13.

Opposition to the New Bill

Despite the damning evidence about PFAS, not everyone is happy about the plan to phase the chemicals out in California. A group of celebrity chefs, many of whom produce their own cookware, is hoping to block the legislation. They include Rachael Ray, David Chang, and Thomas Keller.

“I respect and share the desire to protect Californians and our planet, but I urge you to look closely at the science before moving forward with legislation that could unintentionally do more harm than good,” Ray wrote14. “PTFEs, when manufactured and used responsibly, are proven to be safe and effective.”

Sources:

  1. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billHistoryClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB682 
  2. https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news-release/2025/09/california-bill-ban-forever-chemicals-consumer-products-heads 
  3. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/les-decodeurs/article/2025/01/14/pfas-a-family-of-10-000-forever-chemicals-contaminating-all-of-humanity_6737024_8.html
  4. https://time.com/7317109/forever-chemicals-cookware-banned-california/
  5. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896972408495X
  6. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024003581
  7. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4483690/
  8. https://ysph.yale.edu/news-article/yale-study-forever-chemicals-promote-cancer-cell-migration/
  9. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024007268
  10. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025005148
  11. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2105018118 
  12. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7473499/ 
  13. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38042520/
  14. https://protectsafecookware.com/news/ 
avatar
By Emily Monaco
Emily Monaco is a food and culture writer based in Paris. Her work has been featured in the Wall ... More about Emily Monaco
Tags: