US EPA Releases A Comprehensive Roadmap For PFAs

To get ahead of problems that can impact those who make and use PFAs, the US EPA has issued a 26-pages roadmap to set an approach for research, restricting, and remediating these chemicals.

According to the EPA Administrator, Michael Regan, "This comprehensive, national PFAS strategy will deliver protections to people who are hurting, by advancing bold and concrete actions that address the full lifecycle of these chemicals." 

This new roadmap includes the following:

• Imposes new testing and reporting requirements, strengthening the TSCA review of new PFAs

• Tightens restrictions on existing ones.

• Adopts an enforceable drinking water limit for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)

• Applies hazardous substance designations for certain substances.

• For substances not yet on the market, EPA will apply a rigorous premanufacture notice review process for new PFAS to ensure these substances are safe before they enter the market.

All these changes are in addition to the earlier revised assumptions about proper usage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the lack of approval for PFASs submitted through a low volume exemption (LVE). 

Furthermore, to review and tighten restrictions on existing PFAs, EPA plans to issue TSCA section 5(e) orders and impose rigorous safety requirements as a condition of allowing the use of PFAs. You can download a copy of the roadmap here.

Last Update: 2021-10-21