All Knowledge & Insights By Date

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published a draft report entitled Draft Report on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Alternatives in Coatings, Paints and Varnishes (CPVs): Hazard Profile. OECD intends the draft report to complement its 2022 report, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Alternatives in Coatings, Paints and Varnishes (CPVs), by compiling information on the hazard profile of the fluoropolymers, short-chain PFAS, and non-fluorinated...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on December 1, 2023, that it issued orders to Inhance Technologies LLC directing it not to produce per- and polyfluroakyl substances (PFAS), “chemicals that are created in the production of its fluorinated high-density polyethylene [high-density polyethylene (HDPE)] plastic containers.” EPA states that in December 2022, Inhance submitted significant new use notices (SNUN) for nine long-chain PFAS. According to EPA, “[u]pon review of...

Ask just about anyone doing business in the US making or importing products that contain chemicals what they think about the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) new per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) reporting rule, and you will get a decidedly grumpy response. Granted, no businessperson welcomes any new chemical reporting obligation, but by any standard, the EPA’s 11 October 2023 final PFAS reporting rule is problematic and is inviting uniquely scathing criticism.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on October 20, 2023, the release of a final rule that is intended to improve reporting on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) by eliminating an exemption that allowed facilities to avoid reporting information on PFAS when those chemicals were used in small concentrations. The final rule will add PFAS subject to reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and...

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the release of an enforcement advisory letter on October 17, 2023, to manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of food packaging and cookware, alerting them to their obligations under AB 1200, a recently enacted statute that restricts the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging and imposes labeling disclosure requirements for cookware. Bonta also issued a consumer alert with tips for reducing PFAS exposures. The...

The American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (SEER) is holding its 31st fall conference October 11-13, 2023, in Washington, D.C. On October 12, 2023, in his remarks at the conference, David Uhlmann, Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), stated that EPA will not pursue per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) enforcement actions against farmers who used biosolids,...

On October 8, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) announced that he vetoed a number of bills, including AB 727, which would prohibit, by 2026, the manufacture, distribution, or sale of cleaning products that contain intentionally added per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and would apply this ban, by 2028, to floor sealer or floor finish products. Newsom’s veto message notes that the bill is one of three single-product chemical bans passed by the legislature to address the...

On October 2, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced 30 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award winners, recognizing their achievements in the design, manufacture, and the selection and use of cleaners, detergents, and other products with safer chemicals. EPA states that the Safer Choice program helps consumers and purchasers of facilities, such as schools and office buildings, find cleaning and other products containing chemical ingredients that are safer alternatives for...

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) published two Requests for Comments (RFC) on two planned per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) rulemakings in the September 25, 2023, State Register, the PFAS in Products Reporting Rule (Revisor ID Number R-4828) and the PFAS in Products Fees Rule (Revisor ID Number R-4827). Comments on the RFCs are due by 4:30 p.m. (CST) on Tuesday, November 28, 2023. The PFAS in Products Reporting Rule: The main purpose of this rulemaking is to establish a...

On September 28, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a long-overdue final rule under Section 8(a)(7) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regarding reporting and recordkeeping requirements for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). As discussed below, the final rule is not what many of us expected, nor wanted. EPA states that the reporting rule is a statutory requirement under the fiscal year (FY) 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that requires...

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released a report on September 27, 2023, entitled “Persistent Chemicals: Detecting, Limiting Exposure To, and Treating PFAS Contamination.” According to GAO, examples of how per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) enter the environment include: Manufacturing plants: Industrial processes can discharge PFAS-containing wastewater or emit PFAS into the air; Wastewater treatment plants: Effluent discharged from plants can contain PFAS;...

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published a request for information (RFI) on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) used in commerce or potentially used in consumer products, potential exposures associated with the use of PFAS in consumer products, and potential human health effects associated with exposures to PFAS from their use in consumer products. 88 Fed. Reg. 64890. CPSC also announced the availability of a contractor report with a focus on PFAS that are potentially...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 21, 2023, that the Office of Compliance within the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance has released an updated version of the Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Analytic Tools. The tools are hosted on EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) website. EPA states that the data visualization tools enable users to evaluate what is known about PFAS manufacturing, releases, and occurrence in...

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) published a blog item on September 18, 2023, entitled “Now’s the Time -- How EPA Can Use TSCA to Turn Off the PFAS Tap.” According to EDF, for both previously approved per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and for new PFAS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should: Use the Best Available Science: EDF states that EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) program should rely on the scientific expertise on PFAS across the Agency, such...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 17, 2023, its National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (NECI) for 2024-2027, “including for the first time initiatives to mitigate climate change, address exposure to [per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)] contamination, and protect communities from cancer-causing coal ash.” To advance the Biden Administration’s commitment to protect disadvantaged communities, EPA states that it also will...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 17, 2023, the release of the first set of data collected under the fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5). According to EPA, in the latest action to deliver on EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap, UCMR 5 will provide new data that will improve its understanding of the frequency that 29 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and lithium are found in U.S. drinking water systems, and at what levels. EPA states that...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) spring 2023 Unified Agenda, published on June 13, 2023, includes the following rulemakings concerning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Prerule and Proposed Rule Stage Addressing PFAS in the Environment (RIN: 2050-AH25): On October 18, 2021, EPA released its PFAS Strategic Roadmap, building on and accelerating implementation of existing plans to address PFAS and committing to new policies to address PFAS in the environment. EPA...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) spring 2023 Unified Agenda, published on June 13, 2023, includes the following rulemakings under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) or the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). Proposed Rule Stage Tiered Data Reporting to Inform Prioritization, Risk Evaluation and Risk Management under TSCA (RIN: 2070-AK62): EPA is developing a rulemaking under TSCA Sections 8(a) and (d) to establish reporting requirements based upon a chemical’s status in...

On August 3, 2023, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) announced that it would accept stakeholder comment on its rule concept draft language that would prohibit manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors from offering for sale or for promotional purposes in Maine certain types of food packaging to which per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been intentionally introduced. MDEP states that it has the authority to prohibit the sale of a food package to which...

On July 25, 2023, 12 members of the House sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan urging EPA “to conduct a rigorous, comprehensive, and transparent assessment of the risks of [per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)] in fluorinated containers.” The letter states that EPA is mandated by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to address the risks of new PFAS and significant new uses of existing PFAS. According to the letter, the...