The EPA’s new plan to regulate “forever chemicals” sends a strong message to companies to know if PFAS chemicals are in their products, and to start looking for alternatives. Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, includes thousands of chemicals present in industrial and consumer products from electrical wiring to waterproof jackets. PFAS have been dubbed “forever chemicals” because some can linger for many years in the human body and for generations in the environment. The Biden administration has indicated that it will coordinate efforts across eight federal agencies to reduce PFAS pollution in the air, water, food, and land, with the EPA setting timelines for specific actions. Specially, the EPA is considering listing some classes of PFAS as hazardous substances under the Federal Superfund law. Companies should now be working to understand what’s in their products, which may include auditing the manufacturing processes of their suppliers.
