Podcast: US PFAS, transport & storage, UN updates

Brought to you by members of the Chemical Watch News & Insight team. The first of three special editions. Fresh news on regulations that can impact your business. For a peek of the latest podcast insights on PFAS, read on. 

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Quick Summary

  • The EPA is in the final year of its PFAS Roadmap, and 2024 will bring major new reporting requirements, with manufacturers needing to disclose use of over 1,460 PFAS compounds stretching back to 2011.
  • The EPA is also moving to block new uses of 150 PFAS through Significant New Use Rules, and some legal experts believe the new assessment framework will make it nearly impossible for any new PFAS to win approval.
  • Beyond federal action, US states are rolling out their own PFAS restrictions, and the podcast also covers the latest global transport and storage regulations and international environmental policy developments from the UN.

5 Takeaways for Federal-level Regulatory PFAS Changes in the US

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in the final year of its four-year PFAS Roadmap, which laid out an agenda for more PFAS testing, reporting, and tougher reviews. In 2024 we will also see the start of reporting under the new PFAS reporting rule and under the Federal Government, with several US states implementing rules that will restrict PFAS in different products or phase out non-essential uses of the class of chemicals completely.   

What you need to know: 

1. Key objectives for the PFAS Roadmap are nearly finished

This year, the EPA is working to complete key objectives laid out in its PFAS Roadmap.

The year 2024 will bring forward more TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act) test orders. Part of the new strategy is to create a fit–for–purpose PFAS definition, which could add 20 more chemical groupings to capture 13,500 compounds.  

2. Manufacturers, be aware to submit usage

The EPA will open the submission period for its one-time TSCA section 8 (a) (7) PFAS reporting rule on 12 November. Manufacturers must detail their use of over 1,460 compounds, stretching back to 2011.  

3. Increased reporting is coming

The EPA intends to set the stage for more reporting, under the Emergency Planning and Community Right–to-Know Act (EPCRA), with a February proposal to add more PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory reporting program. The agency aims to finalize the listings by November. There is an effort to boost public awareness of PFAS releases. 

4. Uses to be blocked

The EPA is also proposing catch up SNURs (Significant New Use Rules) for 150 PFAS that were allowed onto the market, which could block other uses. 

5. PFAS days are numbered

Some attorneys believe that it will be near impossible for any new PFAS to get approval via the EPA under the new PFAS assessment framework.  

 

Want to know more? 

 

In addition, listeners to the podcast will hear about the PFAS regulatory changes at the state level and the very latest on transport and storage regulations across the globe, as well as international environmental policy developments coming out of the UN.  

 

The complete podcast

Listen to the very latest insights in the first of the three podcasts, here.