New York pols are pushing to ban the sale of nonstick cookware featuring a "forever chemical" -- but even California Gov. Gavin Newsom balked at a similar bill in his state, calling it a costly crackpot idea.
The Federal Drug Administration for decades has approved the chemicals' use in cookware.
The targeted nonstick cookware is made from polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE, a subset of the synthetic chemical group of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which critics say is toxic.
New York's proposed bill would not only involve pots and pans but also some architectural paints, car parts, cleaning products, rugs, ski wax and polish.
The bill passed the state Senate on Feb. 10 but has not yet been taken up for a vote in the Assembly.
The popular - and typically cheaper - style of pots and pans containing the PFAS coating could be wiped off store shelves by the start of 2028 under the proposed legislation, which was sponsored by state Sen. Peter Harckham (D-Westchester) and state Assemblywoman Deborah Glick (D-Manhattan).
The lefty Newsom -- whose liberal state is infamous for what industries gripe are wildly over-the-top restrictions -- vetoed a similar bill in the fall that would have banned PFAS, suggesting it was anti-consumer and would increase costs.
"I am deeply concerned about the impact this bill would have on the availability of affordable options in cooking products," Newsom said in his veto message.
"I believe we must carefully consider the consequences that may result from a dramatic shift of products on our shelves."
The cookware industry is now lobbying to stop New York's proposed ban on the non-stick pans, too.
"It is unfortunate that some legislators are choosing to ignore long established scientific facts by banning products that are 100% safe and have been approved by the FDA specifically to coat nonstick cookware repeatedly since the Kennedy Administration," said Steve Burns, president of the Cookware Sustainability Association.
He said the compounds used in nonstick cookware are the same as those coating human pacemakers.
"If it's safe enough to live inside your body, it's certainly safe enough to cook with," Burns told The Post.
"Many New Yorkers are struggling to afford food. The last thing they need is a costly ban on the pans they want to cook with."
But state Democratic lawmakers defended the bill as pro-public health because it helps protect New Yorkers' drinking water.
"As we have seen throughout many of our communities, the impact of PFAS in our drinking water can be devastating and costly to mitigate," Glick said in a memo attached to the bill. "New York led the nation in our drinking water testing law that set the limit for certain PFAS compounds at 10 parts per trillion."
She noted that the Rockland County water system had several wells with PFAS levels over 10 ppt and is currently installing multimillion-dollar filters to remedy the contamination.
"While this is necessary, we cannot allow the contamination to continue," Glick wrote.
"New York must now take steps to clean up our environment by getting at the sources of contamination and phasing out the use of PFAS in products altogether."