EPA Proposes Adding Over 100 PFAS to TRI List
Significantly more PFAS substances would be subject to Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting under a proposed rule published by EPA on October 8, 2024. The proposed rule would add 16 individual PFAS and 15 PFAS categories to the TRI list, which currently contains 196 PFAS.
The proposed additions would be made due to their potential human health effects, environmental effects, or both. According to EPA, the 15 proposed category additions encompass over 100 individual PFAS.
The added PFAS would be subject to a reporting threshold of 100 pounds. The manufacture, processing, and otherwise use of substances within a PFAS category would cumulatively count towards that category’s 100-pound threshold.
EPA is also proposing to add the proposed PFAS to the list of chemicals of special concern, which would make them ineligible for the de minimis exemption. Under the de minimis exemption, facilities can disregard small concentrations of TRI chemicals in mixtures and trade name products when making threshold determinations.
EPA previously designated existing PFAS on the TRI list as chemicals of special concern in October 2023. In that rulemaking, EPA argued that the move would “result in a more complete picture of the releases and waste management quantities for PFAS.”
The FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) instructed EPA to add certain PFAS to the TRI list with a 100-pound reporting threshold. “Congress’ use of this low reporting threshold demonstrates a concern for even relatively small quantities of these PFAS,” EPA said.
EPA was required to evaluate some of the proposed PFAS additions for possible inclusion by section 7321 of the NDAA. However, the NDAA did not specify what the threshold should be for those additions. In the proposed rule, EPA defended its proposed 100-pound threshold, saying that it would “maintain consistency for all chemicals added to TRI pursuant to the NDAA.”
The NDAA also instructs EPA to add PFAS automatically when certain conditions are met. In the proposed rule, EPA clarified its interpretation of those conditions, which include when EPA “finalizes a toxicity value” for a PFAS.
Finally, EPA is proposing that it add related PFAS (like an acid and its associated salts) under the NDAA as a category going forward. The proposed rule would also consolidate certain existing individual PFAS on the list into categories.
Comments on the proposed rule are due November 7, 2024.