EPA Readies 150 SNURs Regulating PFAS Approved Before TSCA Reform

EPA chemicals chief Michal Freedhoff says the agency could release within “about two months” significant new use rules (SNURs) limiting applications of some 150 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) approved before Congress overhauled the toxics law in 2016, alongside previously announced test orders for another block of 24 perfluorinated chemicals.

During her April 11 keynote remarks to the chemical industry’s annual GlobalChem conference, Freedhoff said EPA plans to issue separate SNURs for each of “about 150 PFAS” that the agency approved under the pre-reform Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) using only consent orders — which apply restrictions on a chemical’s use to a specific company rather than industry as a whole — to limit their risks.

And she said the agency is also preparing to issue a set of TSCA orders that will mandate toxicity tests of as many as 24 PFAS, as part of a testing strategy for the chemicals that it unveiled late last year. The first round of orders “should start going out in the next few weeks,” Freedhoff told GlobalChem attendees.