EPA Proposes to Expand Public Access to Information on More Than One Hundred PFAS “Forever Chemicals” and Support Needed Pollution Prevention Efforts
WASHINGTON – Today, Oct. 2, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to add 16 individual per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 15 PFAS categories representing more than 100 individual PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). It would also designate them as chemicals of special concern so they must meet more robust reporting requirements, including reporting even for small concentrations. This proposed expansion of TRI would advance the commitments of the Biden-Harris Administration and EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap to address the health and environmental impacts of PFAS by promoting pollution prevention, and informing the public about environmental releases of these so called “forever chemicals.” This proposal also advances the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to environmental justice as well as the Administration’s commitment to ending cancer as we know it as part of the Biden Cancer Moonshot by helping to connect the public and regulatory agencies with data to help inform decision-making with regard to chemicals with toxicity, including cancer, concerns because people can use TRI data to identify sources of pollution in their communities and ways that facilities can eliminate or reduce such pollution.
“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,” said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff. “This information will help EPA and communities better understand how PFAS are being used and managed across the country.”
TRI was created to help track the waste management of toxic chemicals and support actions to prevent pollution and safeguard public health. TRI requires regulated facilities to report annually to EPA the amount of these toxic chemicals released into the environment and managed through recycling, energy recovery and treatment. Facilities must also report on practices used to prevent or reduce the generation of these chemicals as waste. EPA makes the data publicly available to inform decision-making and support pollution prevention efforts.
These PFAS are being proposed for addition to the TRI based on their toxicity to human health, the environment, or both. Data shows that the PFAS being proposed are linked to health outcomes such as cancer; damage to the liver and kidneys; and damage to reproductive and developmental systems.
EPA is proposing to set a reporting threshold of 100 pounds for manufacture, processing and other uses. This is consistent with reporting requirements for other PFAS on the TRI list added pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA). If finalized as proposed, all of the PFAS in a given category would count towards the 100-pound reporting threshold for that category. This change would improve reporting on PFAS by ensuring that facilities would not be able to avoid reporting on PFAS that are similar to one another if each PFAS does not meet the reporting threshold individually. For the same reason, EPA is also proposing to reclassify some PFAS that were previously added to the TRI individually as part of one of the 15 PFAS categories.
Finally, with this rule, EPA is also proposing to clarify how PFAS are automatically added to the TRI under the NDAA. The NDAA provides the framework for the automatic addition of PFAS to the TRI each year in response to specified EPA activities, including whenever the agency “finalizes a toxicity value.” To assist stakeholders in understanding this automatic addition provision within the NDAA, EPA is proposing a list of different types of EPA toxicity values which automatically initiate the process of adding any PFAS associated with the toxicity value to the TRI list.
EPA will accept public comments on the proposed rule for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register via docket EPA-HQ-TRI-2023-0538 at the Regulations.gov page.
Learn more about the proposed rule.