EPA requires Toxics Release Inventory reporting for 7 additional PFAS

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the automatic addition of seven per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list of chemicals covered by the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). 

TRI data is reported to the EPA annually by facilities in designated industry sectors and federal facilities that manufacture, process or otherwise use TRI-listed chemicals above set quantities. The data include quantities of such chemicals that were released into the environment or otherwise managed as waste.

According to the EPA, the addition of these seven PFAS helps to further the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to addressing the impacts of these forever chemicals and advances the EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap to confront the human health and environmental risks of PFAS.

“With these additions to the Toxics Release Inventory, we’ll be collecting data on the release and management of almost 200 PFAS in communities across the country, furthering our efforts to better understand and protect people from these chemicals,” says Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff. “We’ll also share this information with the public, empowering communities to engage with the facilities using these chemicals to prevent or reduce pollution.”

RELATED: EPA finalizes PFAS reporting rule

These seven PFAS were added to the TRI list under the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which provides the framework for the automatic addition of PFAS to TRI each year in response to specified EPA activities involving such PFAS. For the TRI Reporting Year, reporting is required for these seven additional PFAS, bringing the total PFAS subject to TRI reporting to 196.

The 2020 NDAA includes a provision that automatically adds PFAS to the TRI list upon the agency’s finalization of a toxicity value. Six PFAS were automatically added for Reporting Year 2024 due to the EPA having finalized a toxicity value during 2023. Only these particular salt forms of the acids are added to the list:

• Ammonium perfluorohexanoate; Chemical Abstract Service Registration Number (CASRN) 21615-47-4
• Lithium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl] azanide; CASRN 90076-65-6
• Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA); CASRN 307-24-4
• Perfluoropropanoic acid (PFPrA); CASRN 422-64-0
• Sodium perfluorohexanoate; CASRN 2923-26-4
• 1,1,1-Trifluoro-N-[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl] methanesulfonamide; CASRN 82113-65-3

As of Jan. 1, facilities that are subject to reporting requirements for these chemicals should begin tracking their activities involving these PFAS as required by Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. Reporting forms will be due by July 1, 2025.