On April 16, 2024, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed into law significant amendments to the PFAS in Products Law. Initially passed in 2021, the PFAS in Products Law required manufacturers of products with intentionally added PFAS to report their presence to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) beginning January 1, 2023 (later amended to 2025), prohibited the sale of such products that failed to report, and prohibited all products containing intentionally added PFAS starting in 2030, with limited exceptions.

Notably, the amendments drop the reporting requirement unless the DEP determines that the use of PFAS in the product is a “currently unavoidable use,” drop the deadline for such notification, and provide exemptions from the law for certain products containing intentionally added PFAS including:

• Firefighting or fire suppressing foam
• Medical devices, drugs, etc. regulated by the FDA
• Veterinary products regulated by the FDA, USDA, or EPA
• Products developed for public health, environmental, or water quality testing
• Products required to meet standards or requirements of the DOT, FAA, NASA, DOD, or DHS
• Motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment
• Watercraft
• Semiconductors
• Non-consumer laboratory equipment or electronics
• Equipment directly used in the manufacture or development of the above exempted products

The amendments also phase out specific products containing intentionally added PFAS on the following timeline:

• January 1, 2026: cleaning products, cookware, cosmetics, dental floss, juvenile products, menstruation products, ski wax, upholstered furniture, and most textiles
• January 1, 2029: artificial turf and outdoor apparel for wet weather (unless the apparel includes a disclosure)
• January 1, 2032: all other products, except for refrigeration, cooling, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment
• January 1, 2040: refrigeration, cooling and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment

These prohibitions also apply to products that do not contain intentionally added PFAS but are sold in a fluorinated container.

Those specific products or product categories for which the DEP has determined the use of PFAS in the product is a “currently unavoidable use” are exempt from the otherwise applicable prohibition for either five years from the effective date of the DEP rule determination or five years from the effective date of the otherwise applicable prohibition, whichever is longer.