Four Hazardous PFAS to Be Cleaned Up Under Planned EPA Rules

The EPA will develop rules that would designate four “forever chemicals” as hazardous wastes, setting the stage for the agency and states to require contaminated sites be cleaned up.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), and GenX, officially called hexafluoropropylene oxide (HFPO) dimer acid along with its ammonium salt would fall under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Environmental Protection Agency said.

Regulating the four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, under RCRA not only could affect chemical manufacturers but industries that use them to make diverse industrial and consumer products. The chemicals ...