Next week, the House Energy & Environment Committee will review the latest effort to reduce Coloradans’ exposure to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, nown as PFAS.

House Bill 1345 is sponsored by Reps. Mary Bradfield, R-Colorado Springs and Lisa Cutter, D-Littleton, and intends to continue lawmakers’ efforts to reduce exposure to PFAS, which is known as a “forever chemical” because the chemical is nearly indestructible.

PFAS is added to a wide range of consumer and commercial products; in Colorado, lawmakers began targeting PFAS in the 2019 session for its use in firefighting foam and firefighters’ flame-resistant equipment, which made its way into the water supplies in Fountain, Widefield and Security, in El Paso County.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, studies of both people and animals show PFAS is linked to health risks, including cancer, hormone disruption, liver and thyroid problems, interference with vaccine uptake, reproductive harm, and abnormal fetal development.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institute of Health, said scientists are unable to even determine the environmental half-life for PFAS, the amount of time it takes 50% of the chemical to disappear.

Manufacturers add PFAS to products to make them flame-retardant and/or water and grease resistant.

And that’s what Bradfield and Cutter intend to address through HB 1345; the addition of PFAS to a whole host of products in Colorado, including carpets and rugs, cookware, cosmetics, fabric treatments, food packaging, oil and gas products, textiles and upholstered furniture.

Bradfield told Colorado Politics she is most interested in one other line of products: those used by babies and children. That includes playpens, baby blankets and sheets, strollers, car seats and clothing.

HB 1345 addresses products for the most vulnerable, she said.

The bill exempts firefighting foam used to fight chemical or oil fires, because it is the best at extinguishing those blazes, she said. But if there is a release of firefighting foam with PFAS into water systems, that would have to be reported to a “water quality spills hotline” within 24 hours, to include the trade and product name, quantity and type of PFAS.

HB 1345 asks businesses to look for products with safer alternatives, gives them plenty of time to change purchasing and use up their existing stock, Bradfield said. 

“There isn’t anything to get up in arms about today,” given the two-year timeline the bill envisions, she said.

Bradfield has a couple of ideas about amendments, including one that would allow for analysis into the amount of PFAS in a product, which she said might not be at a dangerous level. A lot of that research has already been done by the Food and Drug Administration, Bradfield explained. 

She said she also is contemplating language that would narrow the definition around PFAS, given that there are several different kinds of these chemicals, and she’s got her eye on one in particular.

Colorado is not alone in addressing the PFAS problem. The White House announced last year it would direct a comprehensive approach to address the impact of PFAS in air, water and food. The Environmental Protection Agency was directed by the administration to come up with new policies to safeguard public health, protect the environment, and hold polluters accountable. 

In other news:

The renaming of Pikes Peak Community College is just one vote away from heading to the governor’s desk, after the Senate Education Committee greenlighted House Bill 1280 this week. The bill would change the name to Pikes Peak State College, although its mission, as a two-year college, would not change.

Bill sponsor Sen. Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, told the education committee that the meaning of community college has evolved over time. Pikes Peak “is so much more,” Lundeen said. The name change would better represent what the college is doing, noting that among its offerings is a bachelor of science degrees in nursing.  

Lee the name change reflects a more significant institution with a broader array of programs. Pikes Peak has become a national school, due to its proximity to the area’s military installations, and the college’s graduates head off to far-off lands. The name change would elevate its gravitas, Lee said.

“Where is Pikes Peak State?” joked Sen. Kevin Priola, R-Henderson. 

Pikes Peak President Lance Bolton told the committee his institutions serves almost 20,000 students, from adult learners to traditional-age students pursuing the first two years of their bachelor’s degrees. Graduates are “fueling the high revving economic engine of the Pikes Peak region,” he said. 

The name change would reflect the college’s goals to grow alongside the community and to remain “market relevant,” he said, and would help market it to students, faculty and others, and to combat the stigma that “community college” sometimes carries. 

Bolton also addressed the issue of what happens to graduates in the military who obtain the nursing degree, and that they have to explain why the degree says it is from a community college when applying for jobs in other states. “Names have power,” he added.

Jalen Johnson, the president of the student government association at Pikes Peak, said the name change is one that will garner respect and improve marketability.

The bill passed unanimously and was placed on the Senate’s consent calendar, meaning the sponsors –   – don’t anticipate any opposition or controversy and the bill will likely pass unanimously in that chamber.

HB 1280 was not amended by the Senate Education Committee and without amendments from the Senate, would head to Gov. Jared Polis to sign upon passage by the Senate.