The House will vote this week on H.R. 2467, the PFAS Action Act.
The bill is co-sponsored by Michigan Reps. Debbie Dingell, and Fred Upton, along with 25 other members of Congress, according to Rep. Dingell’s website.
At a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)-focused conference hosted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), Dingell said that passing the bill is an urgent matter, reported Environment & Energy Publishing News (E&E News).
“Let’s be very clear, PFAS is an urgent public health and environmental threat. And the number of contamination sites nationwide is growing at an alarming rate, including our military bases,” said Rep. Dingell in a statement on her website. “The PFAS Action Act is a sweeping and comprehensive legislative package which has strong bipartisan support to address the PFAS crisis in the United States. It’s time that these chemicals are properly addressed to protect the American people from the hazardous substances we know these forever chemicals are.”
The PFAS Action Act would do the following, according to Rep. Dingell’s website:
- Require the U.S. EPA to establish a national drinking water standard for PFOA and PFOS within two years;
- Designate PFOA and PFOS chemicals as hazardous substances within one year and require EPA to determine whether to list other PFAS within five years;
- Designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous air pollutants within 180 days and require EPA to determine whether to list other PFAS within five years;
- Require EPA to place discharge limits on industrial releases of PFAS and provides $200 million annually for wastewater treatment;
- Prohibit unsafe incineration of PFAS wastes and places a moratorium on the introduction of new PFAS into commerce;
- Require comprehensive PFAS health testing; And
- Create a voluntary label for PFAS in cookware.
Under the legislation, both PFOA and PFOS would be promptly regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act and be designated as hazardous substances under federal Superfund law as well, reported E&E News.
According to The Bucks County Courier Times, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry is conducting a nationwide multisite community health study to further understand the impacts of PFAS.