Environmental Industry Updates
The Latest News on Scientific and Regulatory Updates from Merit Laboratories
The PFAS reporting period under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has been extended six months. The U.S EPA announced direct final and parallel proposed rules that delay the reporting period for the new TSCA PFAS requirement. Previously scheduled to begin the reporting period on November 12, 2024, the beginning of the reporting period is now delayed until July 2025.
The U.S. Army is joining forces with the U.S. EPA to target a new enemy: PFAS contamination in drinking water. The joint EPA-Army program announced in July will be focused on the sample collection and laboratory testing of private drinking water wells near nine army installations for PFAS. The program will be focused on identifying the potential impact of PFAS migration from installations to contaminate drinking water wells of nearby residents.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the nation’s first ever PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) is now final. The final rule, announced on April 10, 2024, establishes legally enforceable maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFAS in drinking water. The PFAS compounds that are part of the final rule and their associated MCLs include
The U.S. EPA recently finalized a rule that will provide the largest-ever dataset of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) manufactured and used in the United States. The finalized reporting rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is a statutory requirement with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA - FY2020).
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formally announced the issuance of the next Toxic Substances Contract 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.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 15 (Plan 15) to protect the nation’s waterways. According to the EPA Plan 15 will follow the science and the Clean Water Act to develop technology-based pollution limits and studies on wastewater discharges from industrial sources.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched interactive PFAS Analytic Tools to integrate data about PFAS reporting, testing, and occurrences in communities, making it easier to evaluate the collective PFAS information from nearly a dozen different databases that include relevant information.
