Science-PFAS

Science

IPI Seeks To Bolster PFAS Research, Fearing Studies Underestimate Effects

A progressive think tank is urging federal and state policymakers to pursue research into both non-legacy PFAS compounds as well as exposure pathways other than drinking water, raising concerns that existing studies underestimate the significant economic and other impacts from the chemicals and prohibit a class-based approach to regulations. “By addressing these research gaps, policymakers will be better equipped to conduct robust cost-benefit analyses, leading to more informed and effective regulations that minimize the economic and societal burden of PFAS...

ACC Touts New Industry-Backed Study To Reiterate Fluoropolymer Safety

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) is touting a new industry-backed study supporting the safety of fluoropolymers, a subset of PFAS, to reiterate its long-running opposition to regulating the chemicals as a class because it says some are not as toxic as others. But one environmentalist notes that dangerous PFAS are used to make fluoropolymers, increasing overall risk. In a Sept. 15 blog post on the study, ACC said, “This study provides a robust scientific foundation for excluding high molecular weight,...

Utilities Should Begin Collecting Data On Emerging PFAS, Engineers Say

Environmental engineers are encouraging water systems to collect data on the presence of PFAS and other contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) that are not currently regulated, stressing that utilities’ existing treatment for certain PFAS may provide data on the detection and removal of other PFAS that could be regulated in the future. “Many utilities will be likely performing pilot testing for PFAS removal over the next year or so,” Jihyon Im, an environmental engineer with CDM Smith, said during a...

Agriculture Groups Warn PFAS Biosolids Report May Raise Farming Costs

Farming groups and state agriculture officials are raising concerns that the Biden-era draft risk assessment of two legacy PFAS in biosolids is based on incorrect assumptions and could inappropriately serve as the basis for a ban on the land application of PFAS-containing biosolids, which would limit fertilizer options and increase farming costs. “[T]he agricultural community is fearful that this risk assessment will serve as the underpinning for an overly restrictive regulation on biosolid application,” a broad coalition of agriculture-related groups...

Coalition Comments

National Milk Producers Federation Comments

Illinois Comments

Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association Comments

NCASI Comments


Biosolids PFAS Report Should Reflect More Realistic Conditions, States Say

State regulators are urging the Trump EPA to revise the modeling underpinning the Biden-era draft risk assessment of two legacy PFAS in biosolids to make it more applicable to state-specific conditions and outcomes, cautioning that the assessment’s use of certain risk assumptions and biosolids application rates fails to reflect realistic state practices. But state agencies do not all agree on the direction EPA should take. Some state regulators argue EPA should use stricter risk scenarios, such as accounting for infants...

Water Systems Urge Trump EPA To Revise PFAS Biosolids Risk Assessment

Water systems and biosolids advocates are urging the Trump EPA to revise the modeling, including risk scenarios and human exposure assumptions, underlying the Biden-EPA’s draft risk assessment of two legacy PFAS in biosolids, charging it improperly calculated risks and overstated the harm the chemicals cause. “Overall, projected risks from individual pathways are overestimated as the risk assessment focuses on ‘worst-case scenarios,’” the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), which represents publicly owned wastewater and stormwater agencies, says in an...

Study Finds PFAS Causes Genetic Changes As Early Indicator Of Disease

Researchers from the University of Arizona in a novel study have found that PFAS contamination in firefighters from aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) and other exposures can cause genetic activity changes associated with many diseases, a development which could precede illness and provide an earlier indication of health risks from PFAS. “Identifying an early [microRNAs (miRNA)] signature could indicate a higher likelihood of certain health outcomes, such as a cancer or another disease,” first author of the study Melissa Furlong, an...

DOD To Prioritize Most Critical Sectors In Research For PFAS Alternatives

The Department of Defense (DOD) in a new report says it will adopt a phased approach toward researching accessible and effective alternatives to PFAS, starting with critical sectors like weapons systems and semiconductors, while raising concerns that PFAS manufacturers are beginning to exit the market prior to DOD identifying alternatives. “An increasing number of mission critical PFAS and PFAS-enabled products are at risk for obsolescence due to market phase outs; manufacturer liability; complex geopolitical escalation dynamics; and regulatory complexity, uncertainty,...

ATSDR’s PFAS Blood-Level Findings May Bolster Health Effects Research

Researchers are suggesting a nationwide federal study finding levels of four types of PFAS in the blood of nearly every participant among thousands tested in contaminated communities could serve as a jumping-off point to further examine health effects linked to such exposures. “These serum concentrations reflect a wide range of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposures in communities affected by contamination from firefighting activities and industrial emissions, and other sources,” the researchers say in a June 12 journal article running...

OECD Urges Research On PFAS Alternatives For Lubricants, Hydraulic Oils

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is urging national governments and agencies to prioritize risk management measures and research for PFAS in hydraulic oils and lubricants, as the group raises concerns about the lack of effective and available non-PFAS chemical alternatives for the two products. “While some progress is being made in substituting PFASs in these uses, and various non-fluorinated alternatives have been identified, manufacturers and downstream users of lubricants have highlighted the technical and economic challenges in...

EPA Support For PFAS Science May Not Save Biden-Era Water Criteria

The Trump EPA’s support for the science behind the Biden-era drinking water standards for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) may undercut industry calls for the agency to scrap the prior administration’s draft water quality criteria to protect human health (HHC) which are based on the same science. But one environmentalist says that even though the Trump EPA is backing the science underlying the PFOA and PFOS drinking water standards, officials may still decide to scrap or significantly...

EPA Efforts To Collect PFAS Air Data May Aid In Assessing Incineration

The Trump EPA’s plan to boost long-running efforts on crafting air measurement methods and collecting data on PFAS air emissions may aid the agency in setting parameters for thermal destruction technologies as it looks to place a greater focus on assessing destruction and disposal methods, attorneys say. Under the agency’s April 28 general outline of “major EPA actions” that the agency plans to undertake to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is a focus on air emissions data collection and...

Scientists Push Back Against International Effort To Narrow PFAS Definition

A group of U.S. and international scientists is pushing back against growing efforts to narrow a widely recognized definition of PFAS, an issue that could determine which of the thousands of chemicals in the class are subject to evaluation and possible regulation. The group -- comprised of scientific experts on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the United States, Europe, Canada and Japan -- is concerned that the work by an international chemical standard-setting body to redefine the term is...

Trump EPA Draws Industry Criticism After Backing PFOA, PFOS Science

Industry-aligned scientists are criticizing the Trump EPA for upholding the Biden-era drinking water standards for the two most-studied PFAS, arguing the science underlying the standards for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) is flawed. The Trump EPA “missed the mark by not removing the regulations for PFOA and PFOS,” Susan Goldhaber, an environmental toxicologist, wrote in a June 2 article published by the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), a research nonprofit with a history of industry...

Agencies Ramp Up Study On PFAS’ Risks To Children But Downplay Rules

EPA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are ramping up their efforts to research the cumulative risks that PFAS and other substances pose to children, responding to findings from the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) report, which called for more study on the impacts of such exposures. The May 22 report , “Make Our Children Healthy Again: Assessment,” also touts the Trump EPA’s decision to implement part of the Biden-era drinking water standards as it reconsiders limits...

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