The California State Assembly has adopted first-in-the-nation legislation to ban a toxic Teflon chemical linked to a number of serious health problems, including cancer, from use in food packaging.

Senate Bill 1313, by Sen. Ellen Corbett of San Leandro, passed the Assembly Wednesday afternoon by a vote of 42 to 22 - one more than needed for passage. (The "yes" total may grow as more votes are rounded up later today.) The bill now heads back to the state Senate, which already passed an earlier version, for concurrence, and then on to Gov. Schwarzeneger's desk. If he signs it, it will ban, begining in 2010, the chemical PFOA from fast-food wrappers, pizza boxes, beverage containers and other packaging.

"This is a great victory for public health and the people of California," said EWG Senior Analyst Renee Sharp. "This bill puts teeth in the voluntary PFOA phase-out deal brokered by the Bush EPA," which won't take effect until 2015. "The federal government's toothless, approach to banning a known carcinogen does not ensure that people will be protected from these chemicals," said Sharp.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers PFOA a likely human carcinogen known to induce testicular and mammary cancers in animals. Two studies conducted by professors at UCLA and Johns Hopkins and published in leading journals last year have linked PFOA exposure among the general population to low birth weight. Perfluorinated chemicals, including PFOA, are also associated with altered male reproductive hormones, and effects on the liver, thyroid gland, and immune system.

And, unlike other pollutants, which break down in the environment eventually, PFOA and other PFCs don't, according to EPA. Every molecule that is produced today will be around forever, continually redistributing throughout the environment. As a result, it is in the bloodstream of virtually every person in the country - including children still in the womb.

The bill was targeted for defeat by DuPont and other chemical companies, who threw an army of lobbyists against it. A coalition of environmentalists, consumer organizations and labor unions pushed it over the top. Schwarzenegger has not said if he will sign it.