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
The unlikely alliance pressing Trump to regulate PFAS on US farms: ‘This is a basic human right’
2 Sep 2025 | The Guardian
An unlikely alliance of farmers, bikers, truckers, a detective and scientists from across the political spectrum are working to pressure the Trump administration and Republican leadership to rein in the use of toxic sewage sludge as fertilizer on the nation’s farmland.
ECHA Publishes Updated REACH Restriction Proposal for PFAS
29 Aug 2025 | The National Law Review
The Draft Background now includes a third restriction option that would allow continued use under strict conditions that minimize emissions over the full life cycle, i.e., “regulatory options potentially allowing for adequate control of risks through means other than a ban.”
Fire departments concerned about cancer risks are buying gear that is free of forever chemicals
29 Aug 2025 | AP News
Every time he rushed out on a fire call, East Providence Lt. Thomas Votta knew he put himself at risk for cancer. There are potential carcinogens in the smoke billowing out of a house fire, but also risks from wearing his chemically-treated gear.
Chemical companies lobbying MPs not to ban PFAS
29 Aug 2025 | The Guardian
Chemical firms are lobbying British Members of Parliament not to ban “forever chemicals” in the same way as proposed in the EU, using arguments disputed by scientists and described as “big tobacco playbook” tactics.
WA ramps up pressure on Army over PFAS contamination near Yakima
28 Aug 2025 | The Seattle Times
Years after a group of substances often described as forever chemicals were found in drinking water near Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s Yakima Training Center, families are still waiting for water filtration systems, and state officials are frustrated with the Army’s “pattern of slow or no release of information” about the contamination.
Latest Science
Co-occurrence behaviors of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and heavy metals in the groundwater of dyeing industrial sites in southern China
27 Aug 2025 | Ecotoxicol Environ Saf
Groundwater beneath long-operating dyeing industrial sites in southern China is heavily contaminated with both PFAS and toxic heavy metals, with concentrations varying by season and site, highlighting serious risks to water safety and the need for integrated pollution control.
Detection and Quantitation of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in North Carolina Sea Foam and the Corresponding Sea Water
27 Aug 2025 | Environ Sci Technol
Sea foam along the North Carolina coast contains extremely high levels of PFAS, sometimes millions of times above drinking water limits, making it a major reservoir of these harmful chemicals and a potential risk to people and ecosystems.
Recent advances in the detection of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food: A review of optical sensors, electrochemical sensors, and biosensor
25 Aug 2025 | Trends in Food Science & Technology
Nanomaterial-based optical sensors, electrochemical techniques such as voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy, and biosensors were found to be able to detect PFAS in food at trace levels from parts per million down to parts per trillion, allowing faster, portable, and more selective alternatives to chromatography and mass spectrometry.
Integrating ultrashort-chain compounds into the comprehensive analysis of per- and polyfluorinated substances in ready-to-feed liquid milk samples
25 Aug 2025 | Journal of Chromatography Open
Across the 24 American milk samples tested, PFAS were found in every type, including dairy, plant-based, and infant formula, with ultrashort-chain compounds like trifluoroacetic acid, trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, and short-chain PFAS such as PFBA and PFHpA being the most widespread.
The landscape of PFAS contamination in the United States: sources and spatial patterns
24 Aug 2025 | Environ. Sci. Technol.
PFAS contamination is widespread across the United States, with groundwater detections exceeding health limits at nearly all tested sites, especially around military bases, airports, and firefighting foam users, while industrial and waste facilities account for most likely sources and drive regional hotspots that raise major water safety and environmental justice concerns.
Latest Policy
[Public Commnet] Draft statement on consumer health-based guidance values on trifluoroacetic acid
22 Sep 2025
EFSA's Pesticide Peer Review Unit has launched a public consultation on a draft statement on consumer health-based guidance values on trifluoroacetic acid (TFA).
PEER Petitions MAHA Commission to Remove PFAS from U.S. Food Chain
29 Aug 2025
On August 13, 2025, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) announced that it petitioned the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the food chain.
Europe drafts PFAS restrictions
21 Aug 2025
ECHA, the arm of the European Commission (EC) responsible for managing the use of chemicals in the EU, has proposed a series of measures to reduce the risks posed by PFAS under the EC’s current legislation.
Massachusetts and Maine lawmakers unite to tackle PFAS contamination
12 Aug 2025
Lawmakers from Massachusetts and Maine convened at a farm in Arundel, Maine to address the pressing issue of PFAS contamination.
PFAS in Medical Devices
11 Aug 2025
The ECRI review found no conclusive evidence of patient health issues associated with PTFE as a material.
Opportunities
[Public Commnet] Draft statement on consumer health-based guidance values on trifluoroacetic acid
Posted: 22 Sep 2025
EFSA's Pesticide Peer Review Unit has launched a public consultation on a draft statement on consumer health-based guidance values on trifluoroacetic acid (TFA).
PFAS – Challenges and Scientific Perspectives in Human Health Risk Assessment
Event: 8 Oct 2025
This international conference brings together national and international scientists and risk assessors to exchange current scientific knowledge on PFAS and to discuss challenges and advances in human health risk assessment.
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.
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