PFAS: State Regulation, Private Litigation, Updated Scientific Analysis, Risks and Liabilities

Description

PFAS continue to make headlines as numerous states are implementing strict new regulations of the chemicals and USEPA has begun implementing various regulatory processes including working towards draft maximum contaminant levels (MCLs). PFAS include a class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals used for decades in firefighting foams, food packaging, stain- and water-repellent fabrics, dental floss, nonstick cookware, and many other consumer and industrial products, and are widely being found throughout the environment.

EPA recently released a Roadmap in October 2021 for implementing its PFAS Action Plan, and recently issued new health advisories for drinking water, decreasing the levels for PFOA and PFOS by several orders of magnitude – well below levels that labs are capable of detecting. EPA also established health advisories for PFBS and GenX, which are short-chain compounds still widely in use. Hazardous substance designations, primary drinking water standards, surface water standards, wastewater discharge limits, and other regulations are likely in the near future, which will likely require national investigations and treatment/remediation for PFAS, and possibly disrupt PFAS regulatory programs already initiated by some states. Accompanying these regulatory initiatives are recognized needs and provision for funding to pay for the billions of dollars of treatment infrastructure and costs that will be necessary to address PFAS. In addition, federal and state regulators are moving aggressively to ban PFAS in consumer products, including food packaging.

Listen as our authoritative panel of environmental law experts discusses the most recent federal and state regulation of PFAS and provides practical guidance for practitioners to help advise and limit client exposure across industries.