The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA” or “the Agency”) has finalized the addition of seven per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) to the Toxics Release Inventory (“TRI”) program, publishing the final rule in the Federal Register on May 17. With the inclusion of these chemicals, EPA now lists 196 PFAS chemicals subject to the TRI reporting requirements under Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (“EPCRA”).
The seven chemicals are:
- Perfluorohexanoic acid (“PFHxA”); Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number (“CASRN”) 307-24-4;
- Perfluoropropanoic acid (“PFPrA”); CASRN 422-64-0;
- Sodium perfluorohexanoate; CASRN 2923-26-4;
- Ammonium perfluorohexanoate; CASRN 21615-47-4;
- 1,1,1-Trifluoro-N-[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl] methanesulfonamide (“TFSI”); CASRN 82113-65-3;
- Lithium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl] azanide; CASRN 90076-65-6; and
- Betaines, dimethyl(.gamma.-.omega.-perfluoro-.gamma.-hydro-C8-18-alkyl); CASRN 2816091-53-7.
As discussed at proposal earlier this year, the first six PFAS were added pursuant to the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which outlines how the Agency may automatically add certain PFAS to the TRI in annual phases once a toxicity value has been finalized. Because EPA finalized toxicity values for those PFAS in 2023, they are automatically added for Reporting Year 2024. The last PFAS, Betaines, dimethyl(.gamma.-.omega.-perfluoro-.gamma.-hydro-C8-18-alkyl), is being added for TRI Reporting Year 2024 after confidentiality claims were rescinded for the substance.
Reports for these chemicals will first be July 1, 2025, covering the 2024 calendar year. For the 189 PFAS previously on the TRI list reports for the 2023 reporting year are due by July 1, 2024.
Note that EPA classified PFAS as “chemicals of special concern” on October 23, 2023, thereby eliminating applicability of the de minimis exemption which allowed facilities to forego accounting for negligible amounts of PFAS in chemical mixtures when present at concentrations below 1% (or 0.1% for carcinogens) in the materials they process or otherwise use in their manufacturing process.
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