PFAS

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Complete coverage of federal, state and legal actions to address the public health and environmental risks from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Attorney Sees Chemours’ GenX Suit As Signal Of New TSCA ‘Pushback’

A lawyer focused on toxics issues says he sees the novel suit by chemical manufacturer Chemours over EPA’s per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) advisory levels as the start of a rise in “industry pushback” against TSCA rules and other chemical policies -- which could be boosted by the Supreme Court’s embrace of the “major questions” doctrine. John Gardella, a lawyer and shareholder with the Boston-based law firm CMBG3, tells Inside TSCA that EPA’s ramped-up efforts to study and address...

Two Governors Urge DOD To Quickly Adopt Stricter PFAS Cleanup Levels

The governors of Michigan and New Mexico are urging the Defense Department (DOD) to quickly adopt cleanup standards to match more stringent toxicity levels adopted by EPA for certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), although they stop short of asking DOD to directly apply new EPA health guidelines as cleanup levels. EPA’s release in June of four drinking water health advisories for certain PFAS “establish[s] a significantly lower federal threshold for protecting public health than the previous EPA advisory of...

NAS poised to release clinical PFAS testing guide

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) on July 28 is slated to release its long-awaited report setting out guidance for medical professionals to evaluate individuals’ exposure to per- and polyfluorinated (PFAS), including recommendations for testing and clinical follow-up. Elizabeth Boyle, the committee’s responsible staff officer, said during a July 21 meeting of NAS’ Committee on Toxicology that NAS’ Committee on Guidance on PFAS Testing and Health Outcomes has begun briefing sponsors, community liaisons and members of Congress ahead of the...

Amid Industry Scrutiny, EPA Moves Toward Final PFAS Detection Method

EPA has quietly issued a second draft of its analytical method for measuring dozens of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, marking an important milestone toward eventually issuing a final version, which industry says has taken on heightened importance in the wake of the agency’s health advisories set at levels below current detection capabilities. EPA last month issued a revised draft Method 1633 which includes some technical revisions to an earlier version on such things as the handling and dilution of samples...

EPA Eyes ‘Co-Removed’ PFAS As It Weighs Broader Drinking Water Rule

EPA is offering more detail on how it may broaden a much-anticipated primary drinking water regulation beyond just the two-most studied per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), with a water official saying the agency is considering whether to also regulate PFAS that might be co-removed during treatment of those first two chemicals. EPA is closely focused on “what PFAS might be co-removed when you’re treating to remove [perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS)],” Eric Burneson, director of the Standards...

Citing EPA, FDA Launches Review Of PFAS Risks From Food Packaging

Prompted by a recent EPA study, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has opened a formal docket requesting information about the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging to assess potential health risks, saying the information could lead to tougher regulatory requirements. “The purpose of this request is to ensure that we have current information to support our review of the use of fluorinated polyethylene containers used in food contact applications to help ensure that this use...

Pentagon Adopts EPA’s New PFAS Screening Levels To Reassess Sites

Clarification Appended The Pentagon is adopting EPA’s updated regional screening levels for five per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in order to assess whether contamination is high enough to warrant remedial investigation, an action that will require reopening assessments at some previously closed sites where contamination was not considered significant enough. DOD’s actions underscore growing public- and private-sector concerns that EPA’s upcoming efforts to regulate various PFAS will force additional assessments and cleanups at sites that may not have previously...

OSTP R&D Effort Draws Concerns Over Differing Definition For PFAS

The White House science office’s request for information that will help shape an upcoming federal research strategy for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is sparking concern from an environmental watchdog group over its use of a PFAS definition that differs from those EPA and states are using and could increase confusion over what “PFAS” are subject to assessment and regulation. In addition, the group, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), expresses fears that the emphasis in the White House office’s...

OMB weighs ATSDR plan to extend PFAS exposure studies

The White House budget office is weighing plans by federal health officials to add three additional sites to, and revise protocols for, its ongoing study of the effects of exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in communities where drinking water is contaminated with the chemicals. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last month submitted to the Office of Management...

Chemical Industry Warns NDAA May Set Strict PFAS Cleanup Precedent

The chemical industry is warning that the House-passed defense authorization bill, which requires the Defense Department (DOD) to clean up per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination to strict EPA and state standards, would set a “non-scientific precedent” that would require similarly strict and costly cleanups at non-military sites as well. The American Chemistry Council (ACC) says the provision, buried in the $840 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2023, would set PFAS cleanup standards based on non-regulatory...

EPA Issues Final Rule Adding Five PFAS To Toxics Release Inventory

EPA has issued a final rule adding five per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the 170-plus list of PFAS that are subject to reporting requirements under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), adding three related compounds triggered by an EPA toxicity value while lifting a confidential business information (CBI) claim on one of the chemicals. The final rule , published in the July 18 Federal Register , follows up on a January announcement that EPA would add four of the chemicals...

ORD Readies ‘Comprehensive’ PFAS Dashboard To Aid Toxicity Analyses

A top EPA research official says her office is making progress on a “comprehensive” dashboard of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), aiming to create a single core database that would provide “one-stop shopping” for toxicity and other data on as many as 12,000 of the chemicals. During a July 13 session of the Toxicology Forum’s summer meeting in Arlington, VA, EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) Chemical and Pollutant Assessment Division (CPAD) Director Kris Thayer not only previewed the...

Environmentalists Scrutinizing Less-Stringent PFBS Water Health Advisory

Environmentalists are scrutinizing EPA’s new health advisory level (HAL) for drinking water for the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) known as perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) after the agency set a much less stringent level for the chemical than other health advisories and some states’ levels. While EPA set stringent, interim HALs for the two most studied PFAS -- perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) -- at near-zero levels, and set a final HAL for the GenX cluster of chemicals...

Chemours Sues EPA Over New GenX Drinking Water Health Advisory

Chemical manufacturer Chemours Company has filed suit against EPA over its tough new non-regulatory drinking water health advisory level (HAL) for the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) known as GenX chemicals, charging the level violates both administrative law and constitutional requirements. The action also marks a second attempt at revoking an underlying toxicity assessment for the GenX cluster of chemicals. Chemours July 13 filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, contending the...

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