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.

PFAS Central Partners

Green Science Policy Institute Northeastern University Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute