On Thursday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its framework for new “unsafe” perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, as well as new uses.
This follows a series of actions taken by the EPA to carry out the Biden administration’s push to ban forever chemicals, as they are known, for their proven harm to human health and bioaccumulation risk over time. The EPA’s “PFAS Strategic Roadmap” looks to confront the human health and environmental risks of PFAS pollution. It falls into the National PFAS Testing Strategy which was enacted in 2021.
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For industries like fashion — where consumers could come into direct contact with the chemicals in the form of stain guards (or period underwear) — the EPA is getting ahead. Under the Toxic Substances Control Act, the EPA is required to review new chemicals, including new PFAS and new uses of PFAS, within 90 days, per the agency.
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In its draft framework, the EPA said: “For PBT PFAS that are expected to lead to exposure and environmental releases, and absent a critical or military need for the substance that necessitates limited and restricted manufacture while testing is ongoing, EPA generally expects that the substance would not be allowed to enter commerce before extensive testing is conducted on physical/chemical properties, toxicity and fate.”
A variety of use case scenarios are detailed in the framework from low exposure to unreasonable risk. While consumer protections remain strong, workers may get the brunt of low exposure scenarios. In this setting, if the EPA determines that worker exposure cannot be “sufficiently mitigated,” even with environmental capture, then the substance “will not be used in consumer products” though it may continue in critical manufacturing needs.
Already, states like New York (as of May 2022) moved to ban PFAS in clothing. Apparel firms from American Eagle, PVH, Levi’s, The North Face and more have pledged a PFAS phaseout.
If risks are determined, the agency could take it a step further, per its release. “For example, use of PFAS in spray-applied stain guards inherently involve releases to the environment. If the test results cause concern, then EPA could require additional testing and risk mitigation before moving forward, or could prevent the substance from being manufactured at all.”
The framework, however, does not impose legally binding requirements on the EPA or the regulated community, such as chemical manufacturers.