EPA Announces Automatic Addition of Seven Additional PFAS to TRI List of Chemicals

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 9, 2024, the automatic addition of seven per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list of chemicals covered by the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). For TRI Reporting Year 2024 (reporting forms due by July 1, 2025), reporting is required for these seven additional PFAS, bringing the total PFAS subject to TRI reporting to 196. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes a provision that automatically adds PFAS to the TRI list upon EPA’s adoption of a final toxicity value. Six PFAS were automatically added for Reporting Year 2024 due to EPA having adopted a final toxicity value during 2023. EPA notes that only these particular salt forms of the acids are added to the list:

• Ammonium perfluorohexanoate; Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number^® (CAS RN^®) 21615-47-4;

• Lithium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl] azanide; CAS RN 90076-65-6;

• Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA); CAS RN 307-24-4;

• Perfluoropropanoic acid (PFPrA); CAS RN 422-64-0;

• Sodium perfluorohexanoate; CAS RN 2923-26-4; and

• 1,1,1-Trifluoro-N-[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl] methanesulfonamide; CAS RN 82113-65-3.

Under FY 2020 NDAA Section 7321(e), EPA must review confidential business information (CBI) claims before adding a PFAS to the TRI list if the chemical identity is subject to a claim of protection from disclosure. EPA states that it previously identified one PFAS for addition to the TRI list based on the NDAA’s provision to include specific PFAS upon the NDAA’s enactment. Due to CBI claims related to its identity, EPA did not add the PFAS to the TRI list at that time, however. The identity of this chemical was subsequently declassified in an update to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory in February 2023. Because its identity is no longer confidential, EPA added the following chemical to the TRI list:

• Betaines, dimethyl(.gamma.-.omega.-perfluoro-.gamma.-hydro-C8-18-alkyl); CAS RN 2816091-53-7.

EPA states that as of January 1, 2024, facilities that are subject to reporting requirements for these chemicals should begin tracking their activities involving these PFAS as required by Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). Reporting forms will be due by July 1, 2025. EPA notes that these seven newly added PFAS, along with the previous 189 TRI-listed PFAS, are also subject to EPA’s action in October 2023 to classify all PFAS subject to TRI reporting as chemicals of special concern. Among other impacts, this removes the use of a reporting exemption that allowed facilities to avoid reporting information on PFAS when those chemicals were used in small concentrations. More information is available in our October 24, 2023, blog item.