EPA finalizes new rules for companies producing toxic PFAS chemicals

Companies must now notify the EPA if they want to resume the production of certain PFAS chemicals.

Zoë Read/WHYY

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Zoë Read is a Delaware reporter for WHYY News.
She received her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Delaware in 2011. While at the university, Read was the managing editor for the features section for the student newspaper, The Review.
She received her Master’s in Journalism from Columbia University in 2012. While at the university, Read wrote a 6,000 word thesis on HIV/AIDS in Harlem. An excerpt of the piece was later published on theatlantic.com.
Read most recently worked for the Capital newspaper in Annapolis, where she covered Anne Arundel County news. While at the paper, she won awards from the MDDC Association for her work in arts & culture, health, environmental and public service journalism.
Read’s freelance work also has been featured in the Kansas City Star, the Detroit News and the online version of The Atlantic.

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

File photo: The Environmental Protection Agency.

January 10, 2024 | 9:40 AM

Companies that want to produce or manufacture toxic PFAS chemicals that are no longer in use are now required to notify the Environmental Protection Agency.

The new federal rule is part of an effort to screen the “forever chemicals” more rigorously, and prevent them from entering the environment, the EPA said.

The class of chemicals known as PFAS can remain in the environment — and the human bloodstream — for years.

The chemicals, widely used in consumer products, have tainted drinking water in the region, and across the U.S. for decades. They’re linked to serious health problems, including some cancers.

PFAS chemicals have been widely used in consumer products such as nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, and some food packaging, as well as in firefighting foam. Water supplies in communities located near military bases and airports have been particularly impacted, as the foam has contaminated the groundwater.

The chemicals have been linked to some cancers, thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis, developmental delays in children, and other health conditions. That has led to numerous lawsuits against companies that make the compounds, including DuPont and its successor companies, and 3M.

In 1976, the U.S. Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act to regulate certain chemicals. However, thousands of chemicals were grandfathered in and produced without EPA review.

For 40 years, the EPA reviewed only about 20% of new chemicals, according to the agency. In 2016, the law was amended, allowing the EPA to review the safety of any new chemicals before permitting its production.

Prior to the new rule finalized this week, companies were permitted to resume the production of more than 300 PFAS chemicals that haven’t been used since 2006 without any EPA evaluation.

Some environmentalists say the new rule isn’t stringent enough. The Delaware Riverkeeper Network’s Tracy Carluccio said PFAS shouldn’t even have an opportunity to be reviewed. She argues a complete ban on PFAS chemicals is the only way to protect people.

Carluccio also doesn’t believe the EPA’s review would take the cumulative impact of PFAS exposure into consideration.

“We know these toxic chemicals are directly linked to devastating health conditions and in some cases, cancer. So we can’t afford any more PFAS being considered for use,” Carluccio said. “We cannot tolerate any more PFAS compounds being added to our environment. There’s too many people who have been affected.”

The EPA has proposed restrictions on the amount of PFAS allowable in drinking water.

The agency said it’s also working to evaluate several other types of toxic chemicals, including vinyl chloride, the chemical that spilled during the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.