New EPA Proposal Would Add Over 100 PFAS to Toxics Release Inventory
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The Environmental Protection Agency hopes to increase public access to information on forever chemicals and their environmental impacts. These chemicals are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
The agency announced a new proposal last week to add 16 more PFAS substances and 15 PFAS categories to the Toxics Release Inventory program. The total additions would account for over 100 individual PFAS.
The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) requires facilities to report each year on the amount of toxic chemicals they have released into the environment. That data is made publicly available.
“With this rule, EPA would be able to collect data on how more than a hundred PFAS are released into the environment through Toxics Release Inventory reporting requirements,” Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff said in an EPA statement. “This information will help EPA and communities better understand how PFAS are being used and managed across the country.”
In recent years, scrutiny of the environmental and health impacts of PFAS has increased. Numerous PFAS lawsuits have been filed over water contamination.
The EPA said that the PFAS it hopes to add to the TRI have been linked to serious health concerns like cancer and damage to the liver and kidneys. The next step is for the agency to accept public comment on the proposal for the next 62 days.
PFAS Lawsuits Filed Over Contamination, Health Concerns
As concerns have mounted in recent years over PFAS contamination and potential adverse health effects, lawsuits have mounted as well.
According to the EPA, forever chemicals are widely used, difficult to destroy and found in water, fish, soil and air. Studies have linked PFAS to kidney, breast and prostate cancer, along with other serious health conditions.
Some companies have already announced major settlements over water contamination, with BASF Corporation agreeing to pay $316.5 million in May to several public water systems after testing revealed PFAS in the drinking water.
Much of the exposure concerns around PFAS stem from aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), a firefighting foam used by firefighters and in military facilities.
There have been multiple incidents of AFFF contamination. Most recently, in August, a malfunctioning fire suppression system released over 1,000 gallons of AFFF at the Brunswick Executive Airport in Maine.
Nearly 10,000 AFFF lawsuits are currently pending in multidistrict litigation over claims that exposure to AFFF caused cancer and other serious health concerns. Many of the plaintiffs are firefighters and first responders.
Editor Lindsay Donaldson contributed to this article.
