EPA is looking to add more “forever chemicals” and change up its reporting framework under a new proposal that expands the program for tracking discharges of dangerous pollutants.
Under a proposed rule released as a pre-publication version Wednesday, the agency would add 16 PFAS to its Toxics Release Inventory, which currently lists an approximate 200 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
It would also reclassify 15 of the most notorious PFAS into categories that would subject chemically similar compounds to the reporting requirements. Those categories would cover around 100 individual compounds, some of which are already listed individually on the TRI.
PFAS is an umbrella term for thousands of different compounds defined by chemistry’s strongest bond, carbon and fluorine, which gives the chemicals unique water-resistant properties and don’t naturally break down in the environment.