Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a broad class of thousands of different chemicals receiving increased public attention amid federal and state efforts to address emerging issues with varying levels of concern. This diverse family of important chemical substances is used throughout a wide cross-section of industries, including first responder services, aerospace, energy, automotive, health care, construction, telecommunications, textiles, and electronics. Examples of products enabled by PFAS technologies include semiconductors, solar panels, high-performance electronics, medical devices and garments, and fuel-efficient technologies, and certain fluorinated firefighting foams that are critical for national security, public safety, and emergency response.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and other federal agencies are advancing additional actions to assess and examine specific PFAS chemicals. These efforts build upon existing regulations that address the associations between different specific PFAS and their potential effects on human health and the environment. It is also important to recognize that the PFAS substances receiving the most attention are no longer manufactured in the U.S., Europe, or Japan.
We are committed to partnering with key stakeholders on pragmatic and effective solutions to PFAS challenges. These approaches include risk-based federal regulation of specific PFAS chemicals that use strong science as well as collaboration on effective treatment and disposal technologies. Such regulation is important to all stakeholders and should be based on the following principles: