The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a test order intended to address the need for data on the toxicity of a specific chemical used in making plastic.

The agency announced Jan. 4 that it had issued a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) test order requiring companies conduct testing and submit results on trifluoro(trifluoromethyl)oxirane (HFPO), a perfluoroalkyl substance used in making plastics. This is the second test order under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), according to the announcement, "and the latest action taken under EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap to confront contamination from forever chemicals nationwide."

"The information EPA receives under this order will not only improve the Agency’s understanding of human health effects of HFPO," the EPA states in the announcement, "but also the effects of dozens of PFAS that are structurally similar to HFPO and in the same Testing Strategy category of PFAS, improving the agency’s overall data on PFAS."

An examination of existing hazard and exposure data caused the EPA to conclude HFPO may post an "unreasonable risk" of injury to health and environment, the statement reports. Neurotoxicity, reproductive effects and cancers are listed as "potential hazards" from exposure to HFPO; however, EPA determined there is insufficient information to determine the impact of inhaling HFPO, which is a gas at room temperature.

“PFAS can pose a serious risk to communities, especially those overburdened with pollution, but many of these chemicals have limited or no toxicity data," Michal Freedhoff, assistant administration for the Office Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in the report. "That’s why we’re working quickly to establish stronger, more robust data on PFAS to better understand and ultimately reduce the potential risks."

"Communities deserve transparency from the companies that use or produce these substances," Freedhoff said, "and we’ll continue to use our data-gathering tools to collect information on the potential environmental and human health impacts of PFAS like HFPO.”