Weekly Roundup: PFAS Liability Peaks, Glyphosate Politics, and New Chemical Laws Take Effect
A busy week across the chemical use landscape — major litigation settlements, new state and federal regulatory moves, and two significant new laws taking effect. Here's what caught my attention.
1. New Jersey's $2B PFAS Settlement with DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva
New Jersey announced the largest environmental settlement ever achieved by a single U.S. state: over $2 billion from DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva to resolve PFAS contamination claims tied to four legacy industrial sites (Chambers Works, Parlin, Pompton Lakes, Repauno) plus statewide PFAS contamination from aqueous film-forming foam. Chemours pays 50%, DuPont 35.5%, and Corteva 14.5%, structured as $875M for natural resource restoration, $1.2B for site remediation, and a $475M insolvency reserve. Payments begin no earlier than January 2026 and are subject to federal court approval.
Source: CBS Philadelphia / NJ Biz
2. 176 Million Americans Exposed to PFAS as EPA Rolls Back Protections
New EPA test data released in March 2026 show approximately 176 million Americans drink tap water contaminated with PFAS — a figure that continues to rise as utility testing progresses under the national monitoring program. At the same time, the current EPA administration has moved to rescind limits on four PFAS compounds (GenX, PFBS, PFNA, PFHxS) while extending the PFOA/PFOS compliance deadline to 2031. A federal court declined in January 2026 to immediately vacate the four limits, leaving the rollback in legal limbo. Over 73 million people are served by systems that have already detected PFAS above the limits the EPA now seeks to rescind.
Source: EWG / NRDC
3. Texas Sues Shein Over Toxic Products
On February 20, 2026, Texas AG Ken Paxton filed suit against Shein US Services LLC, alleging independent testing found products with chemical contamination at extreme multiples of permitted levels: shoes at 428× the phthalate limit, handbags at 153× the legal threshold, and jackets with PFAS levels up to 3,300× allowable limits. A 2025 Greenpeace report found PFAS in 7 of 18 Shein products tested. The lawsuit is dual-pronged, also alleging that Shein exposes consumer data to the Chinese government. Shein denies the toxic products allegations and points to over two million internal product safety tests conducted in 2024.
Source: The Fashion Law / Texas AG
4. New York Passes Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act
New York's legislature passed the Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act (A.1556F/S.1239F) with a 60-0 Senate vote and 106-32 Assembly vote, sending it to Governor Hochul's desk. The bill bans three substances from food sold in the state — potassium bromate (linked to cancer, already banned in the EU since 1990), propyl paraben (linked to hormone disruption), and Red Dye No. 3 (linked to cancer and behavioral issues in children, found in over 2,000 products). It also creates the first U.S. state-level disclosure regime for GRAS ("Generally Recognized as Safe") ingredients, requiring manufacturers to share safety data with state officials and establishing a public ingredient database.
Source: EWG / National Law Review
5. China's Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law Takes Effect May 1
China's first standalone Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law entered into force on May 1, 2026, elevating chemical safety management from administrative regulation to national law. Key provisions include a requirement that new hazardous chemical production projects be located within designated chemical industrial parks, a prohibition on internet sale and postal delivery of highly toxic chemicals and explosive precursors, and a five-party governance model covering enterprise responsibility, employee participation, government supervision, industry self-discipline, and social oversight. The law raises both the legal floor and the penalty ceiling for chemical safety violations across Chinese supply chains.
Source: REACH24H / Enviliance Asia
6. Bayer's $7.25B Glyphosate Settlement and the Trump Executive Order
Bayer proposed a $7.25 billion class settlement on February 17, 2026 to resolve tens of thousands of outstanding Roundup failure-to-warn claims — part of over 100,000 total lawsuits the company has faced since acquiring Monsanto in 2018. The very next day, President Trump signed an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to ensure continued supply of glyphosate-based herbicides, a move widely interpreted as shielding manufacturers from liability. The order drew bipartisan opposition: Representatives Massie (R-KY) and Pingree (D-ME) introduced the No Immunity for Glyphosate Act (HR 7601) to undo it. The Supreme Court also recently heard oral arguments on Bayer's preemption theory — whether federal pesticide registration pre-empts state failure-to-warn claims — with justices appearing divided.
Source: Chemical & Engineering News / NPR
What This Week Reveals
The pattern across these stories is consistent: enforcement and liability are moving faster than federal regulatory backing, and states are filling the gap. The NJ settlement is the largest state PFAS recovery in U.S. history precisely because federal standards remain contested. New York's food chemical bill creates the first state GRAS disclosure regime because FDA hasn't. Texas's Shein lawsuit extends the Paxton enforcement pattern from industrial chemicals to fast fashion. China's new law shows a different model — national legislation with a hard effective date — that will directly affect supply chain compliance for multinationals sourcing from China. The glyphosate situation is the outlier: federal intervention to reduce liability exposure, running directly against the enforcement direction everywhere else. Worth watching how the Supreme Court preemption ruling lands.