Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton Quoted in Inside PFAS Policy Article “Amid Tougher Rules, PFAS-Free Brands Advance As Market Changes”

On September 21, 2026, comments by Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton from the podcast recording “State PFAS Requirements — A Conversation with Carla N. Hutton” were featured in Inside PFAS Policy’s article regarding growing regulations on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Companies that sell into states like Minnesota, Maine and New Mexico are either currently facing or will soon face state requirements to publicly report information about their PFAS uses in products, which companies have long been worried about because of the reputational risk such reporting can carry.

For example, the initial deadline for Minnesota’s reporting program ended Sept. 15.

“Information on over 18,500 products is currently published, but this only reflects 10% of reports received as of Sept. 15, 2026,” the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says in a Sept. 16 email. “Review time varies by report complexity and fee payment processing time.”

It is “incredibly easy” for consumers to find information in the database, said Carla Hutton, a senior regulatory analyst for law firm Bergeson & Campbell, during a May 28 in-house podcast titled “State PFAS Requirements.”

“You only need a computer with an internet connection. You don’t even have to register on the website. And I think that was the agency’s goal all along, was this information would be publicly available. The intent, at least for Minnesota. . . is once consumers are aware of just how prevalent PFAS are in their products, they will pressure manufacturers to reformulate their products and remove the PFAS,” Hutton said.

As such, it will become important for companies to counter narratives that may emerge about their products’ risks, Hutton said. Many in the chemical industry believe that not all PFAS, given the extremely broad class, carry the same toxicity, but companies will need to explain that information to consumers in an easy way.

“What we urge clients to at least think about is having that communication strategy, because when all of this information becomes widely available, it invites to me a million different questions, and it would behoove people to think about having on the ready a standby statement or some frequently asked questions or some additional information to allow your customers to make some informed judgments about products that contain PFAS,” said Lynn Bergeson, the law firm’s managing partner, during the same podcast.

See – https://insideepa.com/pfas-news/amid-tougher-rules-pfas-free-brands-advance-market-changes (subscription required)