The state Senate passed legislation Saturday to sharply restrict the sale of a class of firefighting foams linked to water pollution in Washington and elsewhere in the nation.
State Senate Bill 6413, approved 39-8, would largely prohibit — as of 2020 — the sale of firefighting foams containing polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl chemicals — known as PFAS.
Those chemicals have been in found in some drinking-water wells on Whidbey Island, Issaquah, Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Airway Heights near Fairchild Air Force Base.
“Hopefully, with this bill passing, we will limit future contamination,” said Sen. Kevin Van De Wege, a Sequim Democrat who sponsored the bill.
If the bill passes both chambers, Washington would become the first state to restrict the sale of firefighting foams with PFAS, said Ivy Sager-Rosenthal of Toxic-Free Future, a group that advocated for the bill.