Tag: PFAS

EPA Considers Additional PFAS for CERCLA Designation

Last month, the EPA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) asking the public for input regarding potential future hazardous substance designations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund. “Today’s announcement highlights EPA’s commitment to transparency and the use of the […]

Maine Joins List of PFAS Litigants

On March 29, 2023, Maine Attorney General (AG) Aaron Frey announced he filed two lawsuits against manufacturers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and PFAS-containing products. “The lawsuits allege that the manufacturers, DuPont and 3M, among others, have known for decades that PFAS pose serious risks to human health and the environment, but instead promoted […]

Back to Basics: PFAS

Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and actions to take to reduce the risks associated with PFAS. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking several steps to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances […]

National Drinking Water Standard for PFAS

On March 14, 2023, the Biden-Harris administration announced its proposal for a first-ever National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The legally proposed enforceable limits are 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). If finalized as proposed, public water systems (PWSs) have 3 […]

EPA Proposes PFAS SNUR

The EPA has proposed a Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) that would prevent companies from starting or resuming the manufacturing, processing, or use of an estimated 300 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have not been made or used for many years without a complete EPA review and risk determination. In the past, these chemicals, […]

PFAS Expanded Reporting Requirements and Bans in 2023

Industry will need to stay on its toes to remain in compliance with the shifting and complex reporting requirement for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the regulatory pipeline for 2023, 2024, and beyond. And some states, such as Maine, are bringing rules into effect to ban these chemicals. These requirements are negatively impacting consumer […]

The EPA’s New PFAS Analytic Tools

The EPA unveiled new website tools, the PFAS Analytic Tools, this month.  Designed to help the “public, researchers, and other stakeholders better understand potential PFAS sources in their communities,” the tools provide “multiple sources of information in one spot with mapping, charting, and filtering functions,” which allows the public to see where testing has been […]

OMB Says EPA Proposed Rule to Designate PFAS As Hazardous Will Be Costly

The EPA’s proposed rulemaking to designate two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), including their salts and structural isomers—as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) hit a snag after its Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review. The review identified the proposal as “economically […]

EPA Continues PFAS Crackdown

On July 18, 2022, the EPA published the final rule “Implementing Statutory Addition of Certain Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Beginning with Reporting Years 2021 and 2022.” The rule adds five PFAS to the toxic chemicals list that must be reported under the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) and the […]

EPA Issues New PFAS Drinking Water Health Advisories

On June 15, 2022, the EPA released four drinking water health advisories for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the latest action under President Joseph Biden Jr.’s action plan to deliver clean water and EPA Administrator Michael Regan’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap. Drinking water health advisories indicate a level of a contaminant below which adverse health […]