Jesse KiehlSen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, during a Senate level convention connected May 15, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)

A measure to prohibition harmful “forever chemicals” successful firefighting foams passed nan Alaska House and Senate by wide margins Wednesday. Now it’s connected nan measurement to Gov. Mike Dunleavy to beryllium signed into law.

The legislation was sponsored by Democratic Sen. Jesse Kiehl of Juneau. It prohibits nan usage of firefighting foams containing a people of man-made chemicals known arsenic PFAS, which person polluted drinking h2o crossed Alaska and nan remainder of nan country.

Kiehl pushed for akin provisions past year, tucking them into a House measure that made it to nan governor’s desk, but nan governor vetoed it.

Exposure to moreover mini doses of PFAS has been linked to wellness problems for illustration liver damage, precocious cholesterin and various kinds of cancer. They’re known arsenic “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down successful nan environment, starring to persistent contamination of h2o and soil. 

Earlier this year, nan U.S. Environmental Protection Agency introduced the first enforceable limits for PFAS successful drinking water. Now, nationalist h2o systems person 5 years to execute nan costly and analyzable task of cleaning up their PFAS-contaminated water.

But Kiehl has said that nan caller authorities measure intends to forestall immoderate of that contamination successful nan first place. In Alaska, firefighting foams, which are often utilized to conflict substance fires astatine airports aliases subject bases, are believed to beryllium the single biggest root of everlastingly chemicals successful nan environment.

The measure besides allows nan authorities to bargain backmost mini quantities of PFAS foam for safe disposal.