Ohio lawmakers are moving forward with legislation that would ban forever chemicals from cookware, food packaging, dental floss, children's products, and firefighting foam sold in the state, starting in 2027. House Bill 272 would expand those restrictions a year later to cover cosmetics, carpets, cleaning products, fabric treatments, menstrual products, textiles, ski wax, and upholstered furniture.
The bill was introduced by state Reps. Justin Pizzulli, who represents Scioto County, and Monica Robb Blasdel, who represents New Waterford, according to Cleveland.com. Robb Blasdel said the legislation would give parents a fighting chance to make safer choices for their families. Per the same report, House Bill 272 targets per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that are intentionally used during manufacturing, not trace amounts that occur accidentally.
PFAS are synthetic chemicals prized for resisting water, grease, and heat, and they persist in the human body and environment for years, the outlet notes. Federal health officials have linked PFAS exposure to higher cholesterol, lower antibody responses to some vaccines, pregnancy-related hypertension, and kidney or testicular cancer, according to the same report.
Ohio Joins a Crowded National Field
Ohio is far from alone in this push. Related PFAS bills have been taken up across 39 states, numbering more than 300 in 2025 alone, per Cleveland.com's reporting. Minnesota already prohibits intentionally added PFAS across 11 consumer product categories under a law known as Amara's Law, which the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says took effect January 1, 2025, and aims for a near-total nonessential PFAS ban by 2032. Maine is moving toward a similarly broad ban by 2032, the Cleveland.com report states, and Ohio's bill reportedly resembles a PFAS law already enacted in New Mexico.
The stakes locally are not abstract. A statewide testing initiative by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency found that 106 out of nearly 1,550 public water systems across the state contained detectable PFAS levels, according to the Environmental Working Group, with concentrations in affected samples ranging from 5 to 140 parts per trillion. Historical contamination has been far worse near Little Hocking, Ohio, across the Ohio River from the Chemours Washington Works plant, where unfiltered groundwater samples recorded PFOA levels as high as 2,500 parts per trillion, per the same organization's analysis.
Exemptions Carved Out for Industry
House Bill 272 exempts a long list of products and sectors, including FDA-regulated drugs and medical devices, motor vehicles and off-highway vehicles (apart from their textiles and refrigerants), aircraft and watercraft, semiconductors and related manufacturing equipment, HVAC and refrigeration equipment using federally approved refrigerants, and products built for transportation, aviation, space, military, or homeland security purposes that comply with federal specifications, Cleveland.com reports. Certain fluoropolymers are also exempted.
Susan Tevnan supported restrictions on specific PFAS compounds including PFOA and PFOS while endorsing the fluoropolymer exemption, according to the same outlet's reporting. Fluoropolymers are used in electrical wiring, industrial equipment, and protective coatings on bridges and water infrastructure, as well as in medical devices such as pacemakers and heart stents. Tevnan said lawmakers should preserve products critical to society.
The Motorcycle Industry Council asked lawmakers to exempt protective gear, textiles, and refrigerants used in motorcycles and off-road vehicles, the report states. Scott Schloegel said PFAS use is unavoidable for vehicle safety and proper functioning. Separately, the Ohio Manufacturers' Association warned that the bill's PFAS restrictions could disrupt manufacturers.
Enforcement Powers and Costs
Under the bill, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency would gain authority to prohibit PFAS in additional consumer products to protect human health or the environment, and could order testing when it suspects a product contains prohibited intentionally added PFAS, Cleveland.com reports. Violations would carry civil penalties of up to $15,000 each. The Legislative Service Commission expects the Ohio EPA program would require additional staff and significant administrative costs.
The bill looks different today than when it was first introduced. Originally filed in May 2025 as the Protecting Utility and Resources for Enhanced Living, Improved Food, and Environment Act, the measure combined PFAS product bans with restrictions on artificial food dyes, cloud-seeding prohibitions, and changes to local municipal water fluoridation authority, according to LegiScan's records of the bill text.
The House General Government Committee adopted a substitute version in March that narrowed the bill to focus on PFAS restrictions alone, per Cleveland.com. That rewrite abandoned the original plan for a near-total PFAS prohibition in 2032, removed extensive manufacturer reporting requirements, and eliminated the expiration date on the Ohio EPA's authority to add consumer products to the restricted list. The agency would instead prepare a report by 2032 drawing on information from state and federal programs, including the U.S. EPA's existing PFAS reporting program.
Federal Backdrop Still Shifting
The state-level push comes as federal rules remain in flux. The U.S. EPA finalized the first national drinking water standard for PFAS in April 2024, setting enforceable limits of 4.0 parts per trillion for both PFOA and PFOS, according to the agency's own documentation. More recently, the federal agency proposed giving some water systems until 2031 to meet those PFOA and PFOS limits, Cleveland.com notes, a timeline also detailed in reporting from Michael Best describing a proposed two-year compliance extension alongside a plan to rescind limits for three other PFAS compounds.
A competing measure, House Bill 743, would also prohibit intentionally added PFAS in a range of products with exceptions, but it has received no hearings so far, Cleveland.com reports. That bill is sponsored by Elgin Rogers Jr. and Daniel Troy. The fluoridation piece of HB 272's original draft also drew pointed disagreement: Munira Abdullahi warned that ending local water fluoridation could increase tooth decay, while Pizzulli said his focus was on local autonomy rather than fluoridation efficacy, according to the same report.
For broader context on how forever chemicals move through watersheds in the region, airport-related PFAS has been found in streams connected to the Ohio River system, alongside municipal lawsuits elsewhere seeking to recover water treatment costs from manufacturers.
