EPA Issues Test Order for PFAS 6:2 FTAc
On October 9, 2024, EPA issued a test order under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the PFAS chemical 6:2 FTAc (CASRN 17527-29-6). The order is the fifth issued under EPA’s National PFAS Testing Strategy, which was launched in 2021.
The order employs a tiered testing approach, as required by TSCA. Studies on 6:2 FTAc’s physical and chemical properties and environmental fate and behavior will inform future testing on oral and inhalation health effects, reproductive and developmental toxicity, and bioaccumulation in fish. The earliest test is due 255 days after the order took effect October 13, with most initial testing due within one year.
Depending on the results of hydrolysis testing, the companies subject to the order— Innovative Chemical Technologies, Chemours, Daikin America, Inc., Sumitomo Corp. of Americas, and Du Pont de Nemours and Co.—will also be required to conduct in vitro assays to assess skin absorption, genotoxicity, and/or mutagenicity.
According to an EPA press release, summaries of studies indicate 6:2 FTAc can “cause changes in blood cell counts, liver and kidney size, and animal behavior” in rodents. However, EPA was unable to obtain the underlying data for these summaries and therefore determined that they did not meet the order’s data needs.
EPA also noted that 6:2 FTAc’s chemical structure “suggests that it may cause cancer.” Like previous PFAS test orders, the agency plans to use the collected data to learn more about the potential human health effects of other structurally similar PFAS.
The order is the first issued since the D.C. Circuit’s July ruling in Vinyl Institute v. EPA, which vacated a test order due to insufficient justification in the public record. The test order does not reference the case, which was discussed in a previous blog post.
6:2 FTAc is used to manufacture textiles, apparel, leather, and other basic organic chemicals. Chemical Data Reporting indicates that 1–20 million pounds of 6:2 FTAc are manufactured annually.
