Forever Chemicals Ban

Colorado lawmakers want to beef up legislation that bans P-FAS, so-called forever chemicals, by 2028. Yahn Olson is an attorney with Environmental Litigation Group, which is taking companies that produce P-FAS to court on behalf of firefighters in Colorado and other states exposed at military bases. He says P-FAS are a major threat to public health, especially when they are allowed to leach into sources of drinking water. Olsen says, "But when it leaches into groundwater and comes up through wells, it’s very hard to filter out. And it can cause a litany of diseases, it’s heavily linked to kidney cancer, testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, a number of thyroid diseases."

Senate Bill 24-081 builds on legislation passed in 2022 banning class B firefighting foam, also known as A-tripple-F, routinely used at both civilian and military airfields. The new law would close a loophole that allows refineries and chemical plants to use the foam, and adds a host of other products to the ban including tampons, dental floss and cooking ware.