By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 12, 2023, that it is updating the Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL), “a living list of chemicals organized by functional-use class that EPA’s Safer Choice program has evaluated and determined meet Safer Choice criteria.” EPA is adding nine chemicals to the SCIL. EPA states that to expand the number of chemicals and functional-use categories on the SCIL,...
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 5, 2023, the release of a new interactive web page on the “PFAS Analytic Tools” that provides information about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) across the country. EPA states that this information will help the public, researchers, and other stakeholders better understand potential PFAS sources in their communities. According to EPA, the PFAS Analytic Tools draw from multiple national databases and...
January 6, 2023
Nonprofit Organizations File Suit Claiming That Plastic Containers Treated with Fluorine Gas Leach PFAS in Violation of EPA Regulations
On December 27, 2022, the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to prevent Inhance Technologies USA from generating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) when fluorinating plastic containers. According to CEH and PEER’s joint press release, testing conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Notre Dame researchers, and other...
December 27, 2022
EPA Announces Removal of PFAS Chemicals from Approved Inert Ingredient List for Pesticide Products
On December 14, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the removal of 12 chemicals from the current list of non-food inert ingredients approved for use in pesticide products because the inert ingredients have been identified as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and are no longer used in any registered pesticide product. 87 Fed. Reg. 76488. On September 13, 2022, EPA published a proposal to remove the 12 chemicals from the list of approved...
On December 2, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN) and are also subject to Orders issued by EPA pursuant to TSCA. 87 Fed. Reg. 74072. The SNURs require persons who intend to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or process any of these chemical substances for an activity that is...
On November 10, 2022, California filed suit in California Superior Court against the manufacturers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) “for endangering public health, causing irreparable harm to the state’s natural resources, and engaging in a widespread campaign to deceive the public.” According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s November 10, 2022, press release, California “alleges that these manufacturers, including 3M and DuPont, knew or should have known that...
November 10, 2022
EPA Awards $7.7 Million for Research Grants to Improve Risk Assessment of Chemical Mixtures in the Environment
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on November 9, 2022, that it awarded $7,770,044 in research grant funding to 11 institutions to develop and evaluate innovative methods and approaches to inform its understanding of the human health risks that may result from exposure to chemical mixtures in the environment. EPA states that toxicology studies have traditionally focused on the effects of single chemicals on human health. Chemicals in the environment are often...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on October 28, 2022, that it awarded $748,180 in research grant funding to three institutions for research to improve understanding of how people are exposed to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in several communities throughout the country. EPA states that there is evidence that continued exposure above specific levels to certain PFAS may lead to adverse health effects. According to EPA, more data are needed to measure...
October 20, 2022
GAO Recommends EPA Use New Data to Analyze the Demographics of Communities with PFAS in Their Drinking Water
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on October 19, 2022, entitled “Persistent Chemicals: EPA Should Use New Data to Analyze the Demographics of Communities with PFAS in Their Drinking Water.” The Congressional requesters asked GAO to examine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in drinking water and related state actions. GAO’s report examines what recent data from selected states show about the occurrence of PFAS in drinking water; the...
On October 13, 2022, Earthjustice, on behalf of a coalition of environmental organizations and community advocates, petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revoke the approval of approximately 600 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that were granted through low volume exemptions (LVE) or low release and low exposure exemptions (LoREX) to the premanufacture notice (PMN) requirements of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In its October 13,...