NH lawmakers look to ban ski, boat waxes containing PFAS

(Annmarie Timmins / NHPR)This story was originally produced by the New Hampshire Bulletin, an independent local newsroom that allows NHPR and other outlets to republish its reporting.New Hampshire’s ski slopes and lakes are among its iconic natural attractions. They also face contamination from “forever chemicals” present in some recreational activities.

Some ski, boat, and board waxes contain PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of harmful, synthetic chemicals commonly used to make products stain- and water-resistant. PFAS are linked to a number of negative health effects like some cancers, high cholesterol, reproductive and fetal development issues, and more.House Bill 167, which is making its way to the full House Wednesday, would ban such waxes containing intentionally added PFAS from sale in the state.



Research published in 2023 found that about two-thirds of surveyed skiers and snowboarders used waxes that contain PFAS. The waxes are designed to help protect the equipment and allow recreationists to glide more easily over snow and water.The bill builds on legislation passed last year that will ban a host of PFAS-laden consumer products from sale in the state starting in 2027.

If passed, this bill would tack the waxes onto a list of products prohibited from sale that includes cosmetics, food packaging and containers, feminine hygiene products, and more.“We did a lot of work on that,” Rep. Carry Spier, a Nashua Democrat, said of the product ban when introducing the bill in the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee on behalf of its prime sponsor, “and I think we understand what the problem is with PFAS.

”That committee recommended unanimously, 15-0, that the House pass the bill. Lawmakers will consider the measure this week on the chamber’s consent calendar, meaning the committee’s recommendation will likely be approved without discussion among a host of other bills. Rep.

Lilli Walsh, a Hampstead Republican, wrote in the committee report on the bill that it would help protect the state’s land and water from this source of contamination.PFAS contamination is a familiar problem in New Hampshire, one of a number of states to take recent action to limit the chemicals’ pathways into the environment through products. While research has found that virtually all Americans have PFAS in their blood, some have suffered from especially acute exposure, like those in communities surrounding the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics plant in Merrimack and others near Pease Air Force Base on the Seacoast.

Lawmakers had considered including the waxes in the legislation passed last year, Spier said, but they decided to focus instead on products that end up in landfills. When products containing PFAS are thrown away, the chemicals can become part of the “trash juice,” or leachate, created at landfills when rain mixes with waste. That liquid must be treated, either on site or at a wastewater treatment facility.

But the leachate may end up at a facility unequipped to treat PFAS, introducing the chemicals into the environment. Additionally, several landfills across the state have struggled recently to properly manage leachate, including hundreds of leachate-related violations at the Bethlehem landfill.PFAS, which break down incredibly slowly in the environment, have been detected in some of the state’s water bodies — and at levels that warrant caution.

The Department of Environmental Services has identified a type of PFAS — PFOS, or perfluorooctane sulfonic acid — in five water bodies in southern New Hampshire, according to a 2021 factsheet that issued guidance on water bodies with various contaminants. The state recommended that people limit their consumption of fish from these waters.New Hampshire won’t stand alone if it decides to prohibit the sale of waxes with PFAS.

Vermont, Minnesota, and Colorado have taken similar steps to ban ski waxes with PFAS, and the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, the global governing organization overseeing those sports, has outlawed the use of fluorinated ski waxes in its competitions.Spier, who said her husband races locally and nationally, said there are ample alternatives to the PFAS-laden products. And, she argued, it’s simple to add the products to the list of others the state will soon ban.

Rep. Wendy Thomas, a Merrimack Democrat leading the bill, said in an interview ahead of the legislative session that the waxes pose a particular threat of contamination by putting the PFAS directly “into our lakes and our water systems, not even our landfills.”“The best way to protect ourselves from PFAS exposure is to stop it at the source,” Thomas said.

New Hampshire Bulletin is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Hampshire Bulletin maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Dana Wormald for questions: info@newhampshirebulletin.

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