The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formally announced the issuance of the next Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) test order requiring PFAS testing.  The new test order is being made under the National PFAS Testing Strategy.

The EPA announced the action on January 4, 2023, which orders companies to conduct and submit testing for the PFAS substance HFPO. HFPO (CAS # 428-59-1), also known as trifluoro(trifluoromethyl)oxirane, is used in plastics manufacturing.  

According to the EPA, the information the agency receives under this order will improve the EPA’s understanding of human health effects of HFPO as well as the effects of dozens of PFAS that are structurally similar to HFPO. EPA concluded that HFPO may present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, while the potential hazards from exposure to this chemical could include neurotoxicity, reproductive effects and cancer. EPA also found there is insufficient information to determine the effects on human health from inhalation of HFPO (a gas at room temperature).

This is the second test order issued by the EPA under the National PFAS Testing Strategy. The first order (issued in June 2022) was for 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonamide betaine, a PFAS used in commercial firefighting foam. 

Merit Laboratories is a leading national PFAS environmental laboratory, analyzing drinking water, soil, wastewater, groundwater, and other sample matrices, including biosolids and sludge. Analytical methods performed by Merit for PFAS include drinking water by EPA 533, EPA 537.1, and EPA 537 rev. 1.1, biosolids by ASTM D7968-17 with Isotopic Dilution, and soil, wastewater, groundwater, and surface water by ASTM D7979-19 with Isotopic Dilution, ASTM D7968-17, and development of the new EPA 1633 method.