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USA: Rhode Island enacted law on PFAS ban

JULY 2024 - ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS, HARDLINES, SOFTLINES, TOYS AND CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS

On 26 June 2024, the Rhode Island Governor signed bill H7356 into law (Consumer PFAS Ban Act of 2024¹). This legislation prohibits the use of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in certain consumer products and requires PFAS disclosure for outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions.

PFAS is known as a large family of thousands of synthetic chemicals that are resistant to degrade when used and in the environment. There are a variety of commercial applications uses of PFAS, for example, water, oil and grease-repellent treatments for carpets, furniture, food packaging and firefighting foams. Following other states’ actions on PFAS, Rhode Island enacted this law to ban PFAS. The new law bans PFAS that are intentionally added to various consumer products and requires outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions containing PFAS to be labelled. Used products are excluded from this ban. 

Upon request, manufacturers may be required to provide a certificate within 30 days, demonstrating that the covered product does not contain intentionally added PFAS upon. Table 1 summarises the requirements and effective dates of the law.

Table 1. Highlights of the Rhode Island Consumer PFAS Ban Act of 2024

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