Canada’s Proposed Plan of Priorities, released by Environment and Climate Change Canada and Health Canada in October 2024, outlines the government’s strategy and priorities to protect human and environmental health over the next few years through chemical management. The Plan includes which substances are prioritized for safety assessment, activities to manage chemical risks, and the development of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to replace animal testing.

In August 2024, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed An Act relative to the reduction of certain toxic chemicals in firefighter personal protective equipment, which requires manufacturers and sellers, by January 1, 2025, to notify buyers of firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE) if and why the equipment contains poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS; Commonwealth of Massachusetts 2024). By January 1, 2027, manufacturers and sellers must end all sales of firefighting PPE with intentionally added PFAS.

In June 2022, The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) has proposed state-wide chemical restrictions on five classes of chemicals in eleven product categories, the largest number of chemical classes and products to ever be considered by a state at one time.

With increased regulatory pressure to reduce the use of “forever chemicals” such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs) in food packaging, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the University at Buffalo are looking to nanotechnology to break down PFAS into smaller pieces which microbes can then digest.

Massachusetts has issued significant new limits on human-made compounds found in drinking water, called per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS), which have been linked to cancer, low birth weights, and a range of diseases.