EPA Issues SNUR to Keep Inactive PFAS Out of Commerce
Inactive PFAS chemicals can no longer reenter commerce without EPA approval under a final significant new use rule (SNUR) issued by EPA on January 11, 2024.
The 329 PFAS subject to the SNUR are currently designated as inactive on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory and are not subject to an existing SNUR. (An inactive designation indicates that a substance has not been manufactured, imported, or processed since 2006, with a handful of exceptions addressed below.) To identify these chemicals, EPA applied the same definition of PFAS the Agency used in its TSCA section 8(a)(7) PFAS reporting rule issued in October 2023, discussed in a previous Verdant Law blog post.
The SNUR requires companies to notify EPA via a significant new use notification at least 90 days before commencing the manufacture, import, or processing of any of these substances. Upon receiving notification, EPA will assess whether the new use may present an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment and take appropriate action, if necessary, as required under TSCA section 5.
Import and processing of inactive PFAS-containing articles are exempt from the SNUR. Covered PFAS also fall outside the scope of the SNUR when they are manufactured, imported, or processed:
- As impurities;
- As byproducts not for commercial use purposes;
- In small quantities solely for R&D;
- For test marketing purposes;
- For use as a non-isolated intermediate; or
- Solely for export from the United States.
To establish a significant new use, EPA must determine that the use is not ongoing. Because the above uses do not result in an active designation on the TSCA Inventory, EPA could not conclude that there are no ongoing uses for these activities.
