TSCA PFAS Report Start Date Moved to January 2026

Update 09/07/2024 

With a Direct Final Rule, EPA is correcting an error in the TSCA regulations and pushing back the submission period for manufacturers and/or importers of PFAS to submit chemical data required by an October 2023 Final Rule.

The corrected error relates to the types of reports facilities must submit about environmental or health effects of PFAS. In 40 CFR 705.15(f)(1) EPA revised the word "published" to "unpublished." 

The new submission period start date is July 11, 2025. EPA is shifting the submission end dates accordingly.  Regulators are delaying the reporting period as they work to develop an online reporting system to collect the data from PFAS manufacturers and importers:

“Although EPA continues to devote significant resources to development of the reporting application, EPA will not be in a position to accept data in a usable manner under the current start date of November 12, 2024, and thus it will be impossible for submitters to begin to submit data on that date.”

US EPA, 89 FR 72337, 09/05/2024

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Update: TSCA PFAS Reporting Period Pushed Back 

Updated 09/10/2024 
A new TSCA reporting rule requires manufacturers and importers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or articles containing PFAS to submit extensive reporting about chemical usage, production volumes, exposure, hazard information, and disposal.

Any person who has manufactured or imported PFAS or PFAS-containing articles since January 1, 2011 will have to report PFAS data to US EPA, per the rule effective as of November 13, 2023. 

After a period to collect and compile the data required, covered businesses will have six months—until May 8, 2025 January 11, 2026—to submit their reporting. Small manufacturers that imported PFAS-containing articles but did not manufacture PFAS will have more time to report (until November 10, 2025 July 11, 2026).

At least 1,462 PFAS have been made or used in the US since 2011 and will be subject to reporting under this rule, EPA says. 41 have been added since EPA proposed this reporting rule in June 2021.

PFAS: EPCRA TRI Reporting Rules 

Updated November 2, 2023: 
A recent change to the EPCRA Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting requirements for chemical facilities affects the way that some sites will report on production, distribution, and use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the future. 

A Final Rule published on October 31 adds PFAS to an exclusive section of the TRI reportable chemicals list—the list of “chemicals of special concern” (40 CFR 372.28). 

The updated chemical reporting rules take effect on November 30, 2023. The rule will be in effect for the 2024 reporting year, which means that first “new” TRI reporting on PFAS from covered facilities will be July 1, 2025.

 

Why is PFAS Hazardous to the Environment?

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are referred to as “forever chemicals” because their chemistry—a carbon-fluorine bone—prevents them from breaking down under typical environmental conditions. The degradation of these synthetic organic compounds can take hundreds or thousands of years.

More than 600 compounds containing PFAS chemicals are used in the US to manufacture a wide variety of products: firefighting foam, non-stick cookware, cosmetics, carpet stain-prevention treatments, and dental floss, to name a few.

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Updated 08/30/21: PFAS TSCA Rule Comment Period Extended

Earlier this month, EPA extended the comment period on its new TSCA reporting rule to September 27, 2021.The extension appeared in the Federal Register on August 3.

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Updated 06/28/21: New TSCA Reporting Rule for PFAS Proposed

Today US EPA proposed a new TSCA rule to require manufacturers and importers of PFAS to report on their activities. Comments on the proposal are due by August 27, 2021.

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Published 06/14/21: EPA Plans TSCA Rule Change for PFAS 

US EPA will require businesses that manufactured or imported PFAS in the past ten years to report production and safety data under a new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) rule the agency is preparing to propose.

Read the proposed rule in the June 28 Federal Register.

TSCA Section 8 Reporting & Recordkeeping for PFAS

The proposed rule would require persons that presently manufacture or import, or have manufactured or imported, PFAS chemicals in any year since January 1, 2011, to electronically report information about their activities, including:

• uses,
• production volumes,
• disposal,
• exposure, and
• hazards.

The manufacture of PFAS as a byproduct is not exempt for the purpose of this proposed rule, and there is no exception for small manufacturers/importers.

Master Environmental Compliance At Your Own Pace

If you’re new to the field of environmental compliance or need an update on changing EPA rules, online training is a convenient way to quickly build in-depth expertise.

The Complete Environmental Regulations online course will prepare you to identify the 40 CFR regulations that impact your facility and take the steps need to achieve compliance. If you prefer training with an instructor, jump on for Lion's last webinar training of the year on December 14–15.

Tags: chemicals, environmental compliance, PFAS, TSCA