EPA evaluating whether to require reporting of PFAS releases

Abstract

In a move that could affect the fluorochemical industry and its customers, the US Environmental Protection Agency is weighing whether to require facilities to report their annual emissions of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The agency is asking the public for feedback on which of 600 PFAS in US commerce it should consider for such reporting under the federal Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). Researchers have identified a number of PFAS in drinking-water supplies across the US. The handful of PFAS that have been studied adversely affect the livers and thyroid hormones of laboratory animals. In a Nov. 25 announcement, the EPA says it will consider lower reporting thresholds for releases of PFAS than is standard under the TRI. For most materials on the inventory, companies that manufacture or process at least 11,340 kg of any of those chemicals or facilities that otherwise use at least 4,536 kg of a substance