08/29/2025

New Illinois Laws Restrict PFAS in Consumer Products and Firefighting Gear

Chemical Watch | Bobby DeMuro | August 28, 2025

New Illinois Laws Restrict PFAS in Consumer Products and Firefighting Gear

Illinois has enacted a pair of laws banning intentionally added PFAS in consumer goods and prohibiting the persistent chemical class from firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE).

Signed by Governor JB Pritzker on 15 August, the two measures expand the state’s 2021 PFAS Reduction Act by targeting exposures to the substance class in high-contact consumer items and firefighting gear.

The first measure (HB 2516) prohibits intentionally added PFAS in five consumer product categories beginning in 2032:

cosmetics;

dental floss;

juvenile products;

menstrual products; and

intimate apparel.

An earlier version of the bill had included a carveout for fluoropolymers – in line with one in New Mexico’s PFAS ban – but that allowance did not survive in the version of the bill adopted by the legislature in June.

Instead, the measure directs the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) to submit a report to the General Assembly by 1 August 2027, assessing options for a programme to review certain fluoropolymers used in consumer products.

That directive speaks to the fact that there were questions about the safety profile of fluoropolymers that prompted state lawmakers to drop two product categories – cookware and food packaging – from HB 2516 before it was passed and sent to the governor’s desk.

Legal professionals at Bergeson & Campbell said Illinois’ legislature "may be unique in seeking information on specific PFAS, including critical uses within the supply chain, before regulating them".

"IEPA will report its findings to the legislature, which may then choose to enact legislation targeting fluoropolymers, but any legislation proposed at that point will have the benefit of IEPA’s assessment", said managing partner Lynn Bergeson and senior regulatory analyst Carla Hutton.

Firefighting equipment targeted

The second legislation, the Deputy Chief Pete Bendinelli PFAS PPE Act (HB 2409), amends existing law to add new controls for PFAS in firefighting PPE.

Beginning in 2026, companies that sell firefighting gear with intentionally added PFAS must provide purchasers with a written notice stating the clothing contains PFAS and explaining why the chemicals were added.

The manufacture, sale and distribution of PFAS-containing firefighting clothing is then prohibited from 1 January 2027.

In 2030, the state’s prohibition will expand to cover 'auxiliary' firefighting PPE, including self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA) and other respiratory protection products, hearing protection, communication devices and fall-protection products.