EPA issues final rule giving it authority over manufacturing, sale of products containing PFAS

By Adam Redling | Construction & Demolition Recycling | June 22, 2020

Rea the full article by Adam Redling (Construction & Demolition Recycling)

“This action means that the EPA is prohibiting companies from manufacturing, processing or importing products containing certain long-chain PFAS without prior EPA review and approval.

As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Action Plan, the agency announced on June 22 that it is issuing a final rule giving it the authority to review an expansive list of products containing PFAS before these products could be manufactured, sold or imported in the U.S. This action, issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), means that EPA is prohibiting companies from manufacturing, processing or importing products containing certain long-chain PFAS, which persist in the environment and can cause adverse health effects, without prior EPA review and approval. As part of the agency’s review, EPA could place restrictions on these products to protect public health.

‘As EPA marks the fourth anniversary of amendments to TSCA, this new rule gives the Trump administration a powerful new tool to protect public health,’ EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler says. ‘The regulation can stop products containing PFAS from entering or reentering the marketplace without our explicit permission. EPA is committed to aggressively addressing these chemicals of concern under the PFAS Action Plan.’

This final rule strengthens the regulation of PFAS by requiring notice and EPA review before the use of long-chain PFAS that have been phased out in the U.S. could begin again. Additionally, products containing certain long-chain PFAS as a surface coating and carpet containing perfluoroalkyl sulfonate chemical substances can no longer be imported into the U.S. without EPA review…”

This content provided by the PFAS Project.