For many decades Americans were unknowingly exposed to toxic PFAS chemicals* in their food, water, personal care products, feminine hygiene products, household products, cookware, clothing, furniture, carpeting and more. This exposure came about because neither the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nor the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required manufacturers to safety test the chemicals they were using prior to unleashing them on the public.
Now that ample amounts of scientific research studies have demonstrated that the most widely used chemicals (PFOA and PFOS) from the PFAS family (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are toxic to humans, animals and the environment, and also that they do not seem to readily break down and have a shelf-life that at the present time at least, lasts forever, the EPA finally wants companies to disclose whether their products contain toxic “forever” chemicals.** The EPA’s proposed rule is the government’s first attempt at cataloging the pervasiveness of PFAS across the United States.
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EPA’s Proposed “Products Containing PFAS” Rule
More specifically, the proposed EPA rule would require manufacturers to report to the federal government many products that contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. If the EPA gets their way, companies would have to disclose any PFAS that have been manufactured or imported between 2011 and when the rule takes effect. There would be no exemptions for small businesses or for companies whose products contain impurities or byproducts that cross-contaminate goods with PFAS. The PFAS-in-products disclosures would be available to the public (of course, barring any trade secrets linked to the data).
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Products that would be exempt from reporting PFAS
The requirement to report products containing PFAS excludes foods and food additives, drugs, pesticides, cosmetics, or medical devices regulated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Unless the FDA is going to create their own requirements, this exception to the EPA reporting rule is not particularly helpful to U.S. consumers.
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How the required reporting to the EPA would work
The required PFAS-in-products rule is essentially a one-time reporting and record-keeping requirement — and companies would not need to provide updates.
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The chemical industry is upset about the EPA’s proposed ruling
Despite the fact that the chemical industry pulls in more than $500 billion annually, both the chemical industry and semiconductor industry (who has asked for an exemption to the required reporting) are upset about the EPA’s proposed ruling, estimating there will be a potential $1 billion cost to comply with the one time they are required to file a report.
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Environmentalists are unhappy with the EPA’s proposed rule too
Environmental activists say the proposed reporting rule does nothing to help protect consumers or the environment and would account for only a tiny portion (one-tenth) of the more than 12,000 PFAS chemicals contained in thousands of U.S. products (including contact lenses, nonstick cookware, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals such as Prozac, paper plates, clothing, and dental floss, to name just a few –not to mention drinking water and food.
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What is next?
EPA officials are reviewing public comments they receive to determine whether they should modify the scope of their proposed rule to capture additional substances. They are considering as many as 1,364 types of PFAS chemicals to be covered in the rule requiring businesses to report whether they have sold products containing the chemicals.
There have no public announcements about proposed regulations of PFAS chemicals in products–only reporting.
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Sources: KFF Health News & CBS News
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*PFAS chemicals (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are toxic to humans, animals and the environment. They are comprised of approximately 14,000 human-made chemical compounds. The chemicals are ubiquitous in the U.S., appearing in thousands of consumer and industrial products and are typically used to make products resist water, stains and heat, including household products (like carpeting, curtains, furniture upholstery, waterproof and stain-resistant flooring, etc.), cooking supplies (including cooking utensils and bake ware), clothing, personal care products (like cosmetics, including waterproof mascara, dental floss, contact lenses and feminine hygiene products) and even food (PFAS appears in processed food packaging for humans and pets) and public drinking water (tap water) that affects an estimated 2 million Americans. PFAS chemicals are usually found in products labeled “stain-proof” and “waterproof”. PFAS chemicals also appear in fire-fighting foam and other industrial products used at airports and military bases across the country, where the chemicals have leached into the groundwater. PFAS chemicals are known as “forever chemicals” because they do not readily break down in the environment or human body. PFAS chemicals have been linked in scientific and medical studies to a variety of serious health conditions including cancer (which includes testicular and kidney cancers), kidney disease, heart disease, thyroid problems, reproductive problems, endocrine problems (PFAS has been found to disrupt hormonal functions with some research suggesting that the PFAS chemicals are linked to accelerated ovarian aging, period irregularities and ovarian disorders like polycystic ovarian syndrome) and liver problems. Some newer PFAS have been found to accumulate in organs, so in some cases, science simply cannot detect the toxic chemicals when testing for it in blood.
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**Congress gave the EPA the power to track PFAS chemicals way back in 2016, when it revised the Toxic Substances Control Act. Then a bipartisan effort in 2019 (which Republican President Donald Trump signed into law), called for the EPA to inventory PFAS. However, health activists warn that unless Congress overhauls U.S. chemical laws to give the EPA and other agencies more power, PFAS will continue to threaten humans and the environment.
Scott
Chemical Free Life 