Is Your Firm Prepared For The Flood Of PFAS Regulations?

Is Your Firm Prepared For The Flood Of PFAS Regulations?

President Biden has committed to addressing per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination through his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which dedicates $9 billion to reduce PFAS and other contaminants in US drinking water. PFAS encompass a group of synthetic chemicals found in consumer products such as non-stick cookware, takeaway food containers, waterproof clothing and hair conditioner. PFAS are commonly dubbed ‘forever chemicals’ as their molecules contain strong chemical bonds that make it difficult for them to degrade naturally in the environment. Under the PFAS umbrella, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) have the highest concentrations in blood levels in the United States. These chemicals have been linked to health complications such as decreased vaccination response, thyroid disorders, pregnancy-induced hypertension and cancer.

How Are PFAS Regulations Changing In The US?
On March 14^th, the Biden-Harris administration proposed the first national standard on PFAS in drinking water to be led by the EPA. If successful, this decision will regulate PFOA and PFOS as individual contaminants. Hence, public water utilities will be responsible for reliably maintaining levels below four parts per trillion in drinking water. Four other PFAS substances – PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and GenX Chemicals – will be regulated as a mixture against a combined threshold. Public water systems must monitor these PFAS substances and notify the public of standard exceedances. Verdantix expects the burden of PFAS management to trickle down to corporations as water utilities look upstream. Since mid-2022, North Carolina, California, Wisconsin and Illinois have joined the list of states taking legal action against manufacturers of PFAS-containing products to seek damages for remediation efforts.

How Are PFAS Regulations Changing In Europe?
Firms within the European Union also face mounting pressures to reduce or eliminate the production of PFAS substances. The European Chemical Agency (ECHA) holds the authority to implement legislation on chemicals in the EU. Since February 2023, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and non-EU Norway have submitted a joint proposal to ECHA to ban 10,000 PFAS chemical substances. This proposal is pending further review from the ECHA, European Commission and EU member states, and could take effect from 2026. Although global efforts to regulate PFAS remain in the proposal stage, the determination to aggressively combat these contaminants alludes to greater scrutiny of supply chains dependent on PFAS production in the future.

How Can Product Compliance Solutions Help?
Verdantix expects PFAS regulations in the US and Europe to continue phasing out the substances from domestic production process and imports from other nations. Firms will need to demonstrate compliance and insulate their supply chain from risks by maintaining an auditable record of PFAS from sourcing through to disposal. Therefore, organizations should proactively establish formal procedures to collect PFAS data to prepare for increased regulatory pressure. Digital product compliance solutions help firms conform to regulations surrounding the manufacture of chemical products, transportation of chemicals through to disposal and the sale of goods containing regulated substances. For example, Assent, an Ottawa-headquartered supply chain sustainability management software provider, enables organizations in complex manufacturing to collate product compliance information across multiple layers of suppliers. Its software provides out-of-the-box educational content on best practices for supplier due diligence and outreach. Additionally, Assent offers advisory services to help firms devise and execute PFAS compliance strategies. This involves support for determining the applicable PFAS regulations, developing data collection processes, reporting to the appropriate agencies and planning for future replacement of PFAS substances.

The Verdantix EHS team has published a Buyer’s Guide on product compliance software to help firms understand the solutions available in the market.