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
Disaster Risks and PFAS Remediation Will Shape Environmental Policy
19 May 2025 | NCSL
States face ongoing challenges around disaster mitigation and resilience, PFAS remediation and foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land.
Trump officials want to cut limits of PFAS in drinking water – what will the impact be?
15 May 2025 | The Guardian
The EPA is attempting actions that violate the law, some say, and Biden administration’s progress can’t be fully undone.
3M to pay New Jersey up to $450M in landmark ‘forever chemical’ settlement
14 May 2025 | The Hill
3M will pay the state of New Jersey up to $450 million over the next 25 years, resolving claims regarding widespread contamination from “forever chemicals.”
EPA will weaken rule curbing ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water
14 May 2025 | The Washington Post
The Environmental Protection Agency said it will reconsider drinking water standards for four chemicals that have been linked to a range of illnesses.
They drove to the Capitol to testify on a bill and got a grueling lesson in Texas democracy
9 May 2025 | The Texas Tribune
The group from Johnson County waited 18 hours to testify at a hearing that started at 1 a.m. on a bill to limit toxic chemicals in fertilizer.
Latest Science
A comprehensive analytical approach to monitoring selected emerging contaminant classes in sewage sludge and e-waste from Norway
19 May 2025 | J. Environ. Chem. Ecotoxicol.
Norwegian researchers found that anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge converts PFAS precursors into highly mobile perfluorocarboxylic acids and leaves more persistent long‑chain PFAS, while discarded e‑waste plastics, although less contaminated, still harbor up to 176 ng g⁻¹ of PFAS, indicating that both sludge treatment and electronics recycling inadvertently leak these pollutants.
Uncovering the effects of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre on per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances distribution in the Tropical Western Pacific
14 May 2025
Scientists warn that the North Pacific’s huge swirling gyre is now amassing large amounts of short‑chain “forever chemicals” such as PFBA—along with residual PFOA—making these substitutes the main pollutants in Tropical Western Pacific surface waters and raising new worries for ocean life and human health.
Exposure to Legacy Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from Diet and Drinking Water in California Adults, 2018-2020
14 May 2025 | Environ Sci Technol
By analyzing blood samples from 700 adults in southern and eastern California, scientists found that even low but detectable PFAS in local tap water significantly raised people’s levels of the legacy chemicals PFOA and PFHxS, while seafood and eggs contributed smaller amounts.
Hair analysis as a non-invasive method for assessing the exposure of wildlife to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
13 May 2025 | Environ Pollut
By analyzing blood samples from 700 adults in southern and eastern California, scientists found that even low but detectable PFAS in local tap water significantly raised people’s levels of the legacy chemicals PFOA and PFHxS, while seafood and eggs contributed smaller amounts.
Incidence of respiratory diseases associated with per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in PM2. 5: New evidence from a population-based survey of Pearl River Delta (PRD), China
12 May 2025 | J. Hazard. Mater.
A large-scale study in China found that exposure to PFAS chemicals in fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) was strongly associated with increased rates of respiratory diseases—such as asthma, cough, and rhinitis—in children and adolescents, highlighting PFAS in air as an underrecognized but serious health risk.
Latest Policy
When States Step In: PFAS Policy Innovation or Fragmentation?
15 May 2025
While this federal delay, and retreat in other PFAS areas, is recent, states have not waited for federal action.
Texas bill seeking to keep toxic “forever chemicals” off farmland misses key deadline
14 May 2025
Supporters say the bill would protect farmland in Texas. Opponents say limiting PFAS chemicals in biosolids will force water utilities to look at other disposal methods, which will lead to higher utility bills.
Dingell and McDonald Rivet to co-chair congressional PFAS task force
9 May 2025
Two Michigan Democrats announced they will serve as co-chairs of the Bipartisan Congressional PFAS Task Force, working to stem the spread of so-called “forever chemicals” in communities across the nation.
Oregon Legislature bans firefighting foam containing PFAS
5 May 2025
The Oregon Legislature has passed a bill aiming to protect the health of the state’s firefighters and the environment.
EPA PFAS “Action List” Answers Little and Raises New Questions
1 May 2025
Under the Trump administration, uncertainty has been the theme of predictive conversations related to actions that the new administration might take related to PFAS.
Opportunities
Addressing the risks from Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
Event: 26 May 2025
We welcome submissions from anyone with answers to the questions in the call for evidence. You can submit evidence until Monday 26 May 2025.
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