On April 16, 2024, the Governor of U.S. Maine State signed Bill S.P. 610 - L.D. 1537 to amend PFAS restriction and reporting requirements on consumer product. 

Reporting requirement updates

The reporting deadline for PFAS has been extended again from January 1, 2025 to January 1, 2032 and the reporting is only required for products with PFAS determined by Department of Environmental Protection to be a currently unavoidable use (CUU). 

In addition, the number of employees applying for reporting exemptions has been increased from 25 employees or fewer to 100 employees or fewer. 

Restriction requirement updates

The following products containing intentionally added PFAS chemicals shall not be sold, offered for sale or distributed for sale in Maine after the relevant effective date: 

The prohibition also applies to any above products that do not contain intentionally added PFAS but that are sold, offered for sale or distributed for sale in a fluorinated container or in a container that otherwise contains intentionally added PFAS. 

In addition, the new bill clarifies again packaging meeting the definition of Maine Statue Title 32, section 1732, subsection 4 is exempted unless the package is the product of the manufacturer. The exemption does not apply to the package of the above products if that package is a fluorinated container or a container that otherwise contains intentionally added PFAS. 

Note: 

1. "Currently unavoidable use" means a use of PFAS that the department has determined by rule under this section to be essential for health, safety or the functioning of society and for which alternatives are not reasonably available. 
2. "Cook ware” means a durable houseware product intended to be used to prepare, dispense or store food, foodstuffs or beverages, including, but not limited to, a pot, pan, skillet, grill, baking sheet, baking mold, tray, bowl and cooking utensil. 
3. "Juvenile product” means a product designed or marketed for use by infants and children under 12 years of age including, but not limited to: a baby or toddler foam pillow; bassinet; bedside sleeper; booster seat; changing pad; child restraint system for use in motor vehicles and aircraft; co-sleeper; crib mattress; highchair; highchair pad; infant bouncer; infant carrier; infant seat; infant sleep positioner; infant swing; infant travel bed; infant walker; nap cot; nursing pad; nursing pillow; play mat; playpen; play yard; polyurethane foam mat, pad or pillow; portable foam nap mat; portable infant sleeper; portable hook-on chair; soft-sided portable crib; stroller; and toddler mattress. "Juvenile product" does not include an adult mattress or an electronic product marketed for use by children under 12 years of age, including a personal computer, audio and video equipment, calculator, wireless telephone, game console, handheld device incorporating a video screen and any associated peripheral, such as a mouse, keyboard, power supply unit or power cord. 
4. "Upholstered furniture" means an article of furniture that is designed to be used for sitting, resting or reclining and that is wholly or partly stuffed or filled with any filling material.
5. "Textile article" means a textile good of a type customarily and ordinarily used in households and businesses. "Textile article" includes, but is not limited to, apparel, accessories, handbags, backpacks, draperies, shower curtains, furnishings, upholstery, beddings, towels, napkins and tablecloths, but does not include: 
   1. A carpet or rug; 
   2. A treatment for use on converted textiles or leathers; 
   3. A textile used in or designed for laboratory analysis and testing; 
   4. A stadium shade or other architectural fabric structure; or 
   5. Filtration media or a filter product used in industrial applications, including, but not limited to, chemical or pharmaceutical manufacturing and environmental control technologies. 

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