Gavin Newsom, the California governor, is facing intense pressure from industry, and even some celebrity chefs, as he weighs whether or not to sign a bill that bans the sale of cookware made with Pfas or “forever chemicals”.
The legislation, approved by the California legislature on 12 September, comes as Newsom contemplates a run for the Democratic presidential nomination, heightening the scrutiny of his decision.
The industry pressure is part of a broader attack that aims to derail similar bans on Pfas in cookware in other states, public health advocates say. Newsom has a history of vetoing some environmental bills around toxic chemicals, including a ban on Pfas in household cleaners and artificial turf that were made amid similar industry pressure. But advocates say they have worked with the administration to address concerns.
“Industry is putting so much pressure on Newsom, and they’re doing it in the press, scaring the public and high profile people are writing to him saying the sky will fall,” said Andria Ventura, legislative director for Clean Water Action, which has lobbied for the bills. “We’re not sure where he’ll land on this.”
Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He has until 13 October to veto the bill.
Pfas are a class of about 16,000 chemicals most frequently used to make products water-, stain- and grease-resistant. The compounds have been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease and a range of other serious health problems. They are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down in the environment.
The Cookware Sustainability Alliance, a trade group founded by two of the world’s largest cookware manufacturers, Groupe SEB and Meyer, is leading the charge against the ban. Steve Burns, a lobbyist from the group, said he is particularly concerned about restaurants that use Pfas throughout the kitchen.
“Some of the top chefs in the nation rely on nonstick,” he said. “They need this in their restaurants.”
Burns claimed butter and oil used in pans is more unhealthy than Ptfe exposure and said the cookware industry is unfairly maligned because it did not create the chemicals.
“We’re two steps removed yet we’re the ones who are being held accountable,” Burns said.
Chefs who have come out in opposition to the bill include Thomas Keller, David Chang and Rachael Ray – each has had cookware lines that could take a financial hit from the ban. That has drawn criticism from actor and anti-Pfas activist Mark Ruffalo, who supports the ban.
The state’s legislature is the seventh to pass a ban on the sale of Pfas in cookware, and is part of a package that would prohibit the chemicals’ use in six product categories. State legislatures across the US have proposed hundreds of limits on Pfas’s use in consumer goods in recent years, which is pressuring companies to move away from the often dangerous chemicals in non-essential uses.
“These are avoidable uses of Pfas that we can eliminate now,” said Avi Kar, senior director of the toxics program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is lobbying in support of the bill. “Pfas is such a large problem and we need to do everything we can to reduce exposures. This is a clear cut case, and there are already alternatives, so it’s not going to cause hardship.”
Advocates say they worked with industry in other product categories but only cookware makers were hostile toward legislation. The industry previously sued in federal court in an attempt to overturn a similar ban in Minnesota, but the suit was dismissed.
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Similar tactics and claims are being deployed in California. Industry has said, without providing firm evidence, that the bans caused cookware shortages on store shelves. Maine was among the first states to ban Pfas in cookware and the industry has claimed brides in the state are upset because they can’t get Teflon pans on their registries, advocates say.
Pfas compounds like Ptfe, also called Teflon, are most commonly used in pans and industry has claimed the chemical is safe and should not be classified as a Pfas. New Mexico exempted Ptfe from its cookware ban, but most governments classify it as a Pfas and regulate it. While science suggests Ptfe poses less of a health threat in isolation than other more dangerous Pfas, some peer-reviewed research highlights risks throughout its life cycle.
Highly toxic Pfas are used to manufacture Ptfe, and the former can end up in the environment or leftover on a pan. When Ptfe cookware is scratched or chipped, it can shed micro- or nanoplastics into food. Research has linked Ptfe in combination with other microplastics to decreased sperm quality, among other health issues, and Ptfe fumes emitted from a pan can cause flu-like symptoms.
Ventura noted the California water and sewer utility trade group endorses the ban because utilities are left with the cost of trying to remove PFAS pollution from drinking water.
Industry has also run ads in California claiming the state is in a cost-of-living crisis, and the ban would force families to spend more than $300 buying new pots and pans. In one ad that ran on Instagram, a woman standing in a kitchen states that she can’t afford to buy new pans.
But Ventura noted the ban only covers selling new cookware with Pfas and wouldn’t prohibit owning the products or buying them out of state. Though industry claims alternatives are more expensive, most companies also make stainless steel, cast iron or nonstick ceramic products, and many are the same price.
“All you have to do is walk into a Marshalls or Macy’s and you can see they’re the same price, and the companies are making the alternatives,” Ventura said. “Nobody is going to go into your house or the kitchen of your restaurant and take away [the Teflon pans].”
