Sen. Katie Muth, D-Berks and chairwoman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, is pictured speaking at a publc hearing on state policies and health impacts of the shale gas industry.

State Sen. Katie Muth is looking for support from her fellow legislators to ban so-called forever chemicals.

Muth recently introduced a co-sponsorship memorandum for legislation she is drafting to ban per- and polyflouroalkyl substances in all industrial applications, though she would include an exclusion for essential uses as defined by the state Health and Environmental Protection departments.

The chemicals have been linked to cancer and other health problems in humans and are called “forever chemicals” because they don’t degrade in the environment and remain in the bloodstream. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, is an organic group of chemicals that has existed since the 1950s, normally found in non-stick pans, water and stain resistant fabrics, and food packaging. More recently it has been used in fire-fighting foam.

Muth cites studies linking PFAS to decreased fertility and increased instances of high blood pressure in pregnant women; developmental effects or delays in children, including low birth weight, accelerated puberty, bone variations or behavioral changes; increased risk of some cancers, including prostate, kidney and testicular cancers; reduced ability of the body’s immune system to fight infections, including reduced vaccine response; interference with the body’s natural hormones and increased cholesterol levels and an increased rsk of obesity as reasons to ban the chemicals.

In 2021 Maine passed legislation phasing out the use of products with PFAS by 2030.

“My bill would be modeled after Maine’s legislation with a more condensed phase-out period and also require all companies toreport all current applications and uses of PFAS to the DEP and DOH,” Muth wrote in her legislative justification.

” The report would include the description of the product; thepurpose for PFAS use in the product; the amount of PFAS used in the product; and contact information for the manufacturer. The legislation would also give DEP the ability to levy fines for non-compliance with the provisions of the ban.”

Muth also plans to introduce legislation amending Act 13 of 2012 to require testing for PFAS in all oil and gas extraction operations in Pennsylvania. She cites a 2021 report released by Physicians for Social Responsibility showing oil and gas companies have used PFAS and substances that can degrade into PFAS in hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas in more than 1,200 wells in six U.S. states between 2012 and 2020. She said underreporting of the use of these forever chemicals is likely since full disclosure of chemicals used in the fracked gas extraction industry and testing for PFAS is not required by the federal or state government regulators.

“Required testing of PFAS in oil and gas operations can already be required by the DEP, but the department has not required thistesting as part of their protocol,” Muth wrote in her co-sponsorship memorandum. “For decades corporate polluters have dictated environmental regulations in our state and we musttake urgent action to protect residents and our natural resources from further harm.”