PFAS Central: sharing notable news, scientific papers & events
Although useful, PFAS or highly fluorinated chemicals are associated with serious health harm and can remain in the environment forever.
Latest News
New Mexico proposes world’s broadest use of PFAS warning labels
18 Oct 2025 | C&EN
“It’s time we just shine a light on this,” James Kenney, secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), tells C&EN.
3M PFAS trial delayed, more health claims filed
18 Oct 2025 | Fox 9
A bellwether trial was scheduled to begin this month, but the judge indefinitely delayed the proceedings, so attorneys could file any other cases that meet the criteria.
Maine begins covering cost of PFAS blood testing
18 Oct 2025 | News Center Maine
The state-funded initiative aims to help residents in contaminated areas afford critical blood tests for toxic PFAS exposure.
Birds Near US Military Bases Have Higher Levels of PFAS, Study Finds
16 Oct 2025 | Newsweek
While the findings are "not surprising," as many PFAS chemicals can "move from the environment into the bodies of living organisms," a process called bioaccumulation, the way in which these chemicals are affecting environmental health is "concerning," Jamie DeWitt, director of the Environmental Health Sciences Center at Oregon State University, who was not involved in the study, told Newsweek.
EPA moves to allow more PFAS in drinking water
15 Oct 2025 | Environment America
The current U.S. EPA is moving to weaken that rule—including rescinding the limits for four of those PFAS chemicals and delaying limits on the other two.
Latest Science
Changes in the levels and predictors of per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances in maternal plasma, relative to timelines of EPA PFOA Stewardship
18 Oct 2025 | Environ. Int.
PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, PFHpS, and Me-PFOSA-AcOH declined over time after EPA’s PFOA Stewardship Program, but other PFAS such as PFNA, PFUnA, PFDeA, PFDoA, and GenX increased especially among non-White mothers, and higher levels were linked to eating fish/shellfish and vegetables, working, and having carpet or pets during pregnancy, showing that policies reduced some PFAS but exposure sources and inequities remain.
PFAS in stormwater control measures: Removal, distribution, and long-term fate
18 Oct 2025 | Water Research
Stormwater systems such as ponds and filters are not designed to remove PFAS, so most PFAS pass through the system, build up in water and sediment over time, and can transform from precursors into more toxic terminal PFAS, making stormwater a growing and often hidden source of PFAS pollution in the environment.
Current knowledge about per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the atmosphere: Fate, analytical methods and research priorities
13 Oct 2025 | Chemosphere
PFAS can escape into the air from factories, firefighting foams, landfills, and wastewater plants, move long distances in gases and tiny particles, cycle back through rain and sea spray, accumulate indoors, and expose people by breathing or skin contact even far from the source.
Comparison of four PFAS mixtures assessment approaches based on extensive tap water and groundwater data
13 Oct 2025 | Environ. Pollut.
Analyzing more than 1,700 U.S. water samples, the study shows that PFAS risk conclusions depend heavily on the method used, simple “sum of PFAS” limits often miss potential health concerns, while toxicity-weighted approaches like EPA-style risk assessment or relative-potency methods flag far more exceedances, frequently driven by PFOA and PFOS.
From carboxylates to chlorinated sulfonates: Contrasting fate and treatment prospects of GenX and F53B in WWTPs
13 Oct 2025 | Science of The Total Environment
In wastewater systems, GenX was found to largely persist in the aqueous phase with minimal degradation, while F-53B partitions to sludge and undergoes limited breakdown, and advanced treatments like UV with sulfite or electrochemical oxidation outperform conventional processes, though byproducts and limited field data remain concerns.
Latest Policy
[Public Comment] Prohibition of the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, excluding fluoropolymers, in firefighting foams in Canada
25 Nov 2025
The main purpose of this consultation document is to inform interested parties and solicit comments on the proposed regulatory approach to prohibit the manufacture, import, use and sale of PFAS in firefighting foams for those PFAS that are not already regulated.
[Press Release] Ranking Member Pingree: Trump’s EPA is Failing to Protect Americans from ‘Forever Chemical’ Contamination
16 Oct 2025
Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Interior and Environment Subcommittee, is calling for transparency and immediate action from the EPA after it was reported the Agency is withholding a long-delayed PFAS risk assessment.
Newsom blocks bill that would further limit PFAS in packaging
16 Oct 2025
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed two bills related to PFAS and plastic microbeads, capping off a legislative session that brought little change for the packaging industry.
EU imposes limits on PFAS chemicals in fire-fighting foams
3 Oct 2025
With these restrictions, it estimates cutting the emissions and production of about 470 tonnes of this type of chemical, along with the associated risks to the environment, soil, and water.
EPA’s Move to Reduce PFAS Regs Tied Up in Courts
1 Oct 2025
The issue is now pending in the D.C. Circuit Court, with utilities, chemical companies, and community groups all weighing in on whether the EPA can legally revoke its own rule.
Opportunities
SETAC North America 46th Annual Meeting - Call for Abstracts
Event: 16 Nov 2025
DATES: 16–20 November 2025 LOCATION: Portland, Oregon Abstract submissions are free until 4 June. Late-breaking science abstracts will be accepted from 9 July–20 August for a $50 rush fee.
[Public Comment] Prohibition of the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, excluding fluoropolymers, in firefighting foams in Canada
Posted: 25 Nov 2025
The main purpose of this consultation document is to inform interested parties and solicit comments on the proposed regulatory approach to prohibit the manufacture, import, use and sale of PFAS in firefighting foams for those PFAS that are not already regulated.
2025 Great Lakes PFAS Summit
Event: 1 Dec 2025
Join the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) for the annual virtual Great Lakes PFAS Summit December 2 – 4, 2025.
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