The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule to enhance the reporting of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) data to the Toxics Release Inventory.
The rule would eliminate an exemption that permits facilities to avoid reporting information on PFAS when those chemicals are used in small, or de minimis, concentrations, according to a Dec. 5 news release. This will help ensure facilities that make or use TRI-listed PFAS do not avoid disclosing PFAS releases and other waste management quantities for these chemicals.
"PFAS continue to pose an urgent threat to our country and communities deserve to know if they may be exposed because of the way these chemicals are being managed, recycled or released," EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in the release. “By removing this reporting loophole, we’re advancing the work set out in the agency’s PFAS strategic roadmap and ensuring that companies report information for even small concentrations of PFAS."
He also mentioned how this important information would be put out for public consumption, the release reported.
"We’ll make this information available to the public so EPA and other federal, state and local agencies can use it to help best protect health and the environment," Regan added, according to the release.
This plan is a part of larger efforts by the Biden administration to address these matters, the release reported.
