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Regulatory Implications of PFAS
Published in David M. Kempisty, LeeAnn Racz, Forever Chemicals, 2021
No new contaminants have yet to be regulated under this regulatory development process as all regulations that have been finalized since 1996 were either in progress prior to 1996 or had deadlines in the 1996 SDWA Amendments. However, it should be noted that EPA has met the SDWA requirements for five regulatory determinations every five years with 24 negative regulatory determinations since 2003 in the first three rounds of regulatory determinations in 2003, 2008, and 2016 (EPA 2003, 2008b, 2016a). EPA also decided to conduct additional research on strontium as part of the third regulatory determination, and that decision counted as one of its five decisions. In 2021, in the final Fourth Regulatory Determinations, EPA decided a national regulation was warranted for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), along with making six negative regulatory determinations (EPA, 2021a). EPA is meeting the statutory requirements, but until 2021, the Agency had been unable to find a new contaminant where a national regulation provides “a meaningful opportunity for health risk reductions for persons served by public water systems.”
Marine Litter Plastics and Microplastics and Their Toxic Chemicals Components
Published in Leo M. L. Nollet, Khwaja Salahuddin Siddiqi, Analysis of Nanoplastics and Microplastics in Food, 2020
Frederic Gallo, Cristina Fossi, Roland Weber, David Santillo, Joao Sousa, Imogen Ingram, Angel Nadal, Dolores Romano
Other plastic additives of concern in the marine environment include chlorinated paraffins‡ [50] added as flame retardants; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) included in PVC coatings/paints, and sometimes released as fine particles from abrasive blasting from (e.g., bridges into waters in tonnes scale*) [51,52] and per- and polyfluorinated compounds (PFCs)† [53,54]. Fluorinated polymers containing perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) precursors used in some textile fibers and in paper and paperboard articles (i.e., fast-food packaging and paper plates, cups, etc.) to provide grease and water resistance [55], can become microplastics/fibers in the aquatic environment and release PFOS when degrading or ingested‡ [56].
Environmental Disease
Published in Gary S. Moore, Kathleen A. Bell, Living with the Earth, 2018
Gary S. Moore, Kathleen A. Bell
In 2015, it was reported that the town’s water supply was badly contaminated with PFAS, a chemical used to fight fires. The cancer cluster is located only a few kilometers from an air force base, which had used the PFAS foam extensively for firefighting training.1 These chemicals, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), have been linked to six diseases, including cancer. They aren’t found only in firefighting foam, but in many common household products such as non-stick frying pans and waterproof clothing. The bad news is that when the chemicals get into our bodies, they stay for 3–5 years. During that time, they can cause disease.2 This is environmental disease.
Characterization of PFAS air emissions from thermal application of fluoropolymer dispersions on fabrics
Published in Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 2023
Lindsay C. Wickersham, James M. Mattila, Jonathan D. Krug, Stephen R. Jackson, M. Ariel Geer Wallace, Erin P. Shields, Hannah Halliday, Emily Y. Li, Hannah K. Liberatore, Stanley (Mac) Farrior, William Preston, Jeffrey V. Ryan, Chun-Wai Lee, William P. Linak
Fluorinated coatings are applied to fibers, fabrics, paper, and many other surfaces to impart desired hydrophobic and lipophobic properties as well as increase durability and protection from mechanical, thermal, chemical, and ultraviolet degradation. Fluorinated coatings can be applied in liquid or powdered forms, with liquid dispersions commonly used to coat fibers and fabrics. Dispersion formulations include the fluoropolymer (e.g. polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE) particles, additives, water, and surfactants (fluorinated and nonfluorinated) needed to suspend the particles and provide ideal surface tension and wettability properties (McKeen 2006). Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are generally added as dispersion surfactants but are also found in the dispersions as residual PFAS-based polymer processing aids (PPAs) (Hassel 2016). These modifiers and components can be adjusted to improve processing and produce desired physical properties in the final product. Most fabric coating facilities purchase dispersions from specialty dispersion manufacturers that have extensively researched and perfected their coating formulations for specific applications (McKeen 2006). These formulations are not typically disclosed and are protected as confidential business information. Dispersion formulations have changed with time and updated technology. Before its discontinued use in 2006, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was the most common PPA used for fluoropolymer production (Prevedouros et al. 2006). However, today newer shorter-chain and less studied PPAs such as the ammonium salt of perfluoro-2-propoxypropanoic acid, commonly known by its trademark name, GenX, have replaced PFOA (Dupont 2010).
The transplacental transfer efficiency of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): a first meta-analysis
Published in Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B, 2022
Mareike Appel, Martin Forsthuber, Romualdo Ramos, Raimund Widhalm, Sebastian Granitzer, Maria Uhl, Markus Hengstschläger, Tanja Stamm, Claudia Gundacker
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and related substances were added to the Stockholm Convention list of POPs in 2009 and PFOA in 2019. The major US manufacturer of PFAS (3 M) voluntarily started the phase-out of PFOS and structurally similar compounds from production in 2000. The European Union restricted PFOS production and use in 2008 and banned perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in 2020 (EC 2020; EP. THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 2006). Nevertheless, PFOS and PFOA are still detectable in humans and wildlife due to persistence in the environment, long biological half-life, usage of PFOS precursors, and ongoing production in other parts of the world.