Skip to main content

Sarbanes Introduces Legislation to Better Identify and Mitigate PFAS Health Risks

May 27, 2022

PFAS Reference Standards Act Will Improve the Detection of PFAS “Forever Chemicals” and Protect Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) today introduced the PFAS Reference Standards Act, legislation which would take a critical first step to protecting communities against dangerous health risks. This legislation would enable the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to accurately identify and track more of the large class of toxic per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances commonly known as PFAS.

By requiring manufacturers to provide reference standards for all PFAS chemicals they produce, this legislation would equip EPA with the best available science to accurately identify and act faster to mitigate these dangerous "forever chemicals."

PFAS, which are valued industrially for their sturdy, non-stick, water repellant and fire-retardant properties, can accumulate in the body through exposure over time and have been linked to many adverse health effects, including cancer, thyroid disease, developmental disabilities, immune system deficiencies and high cholesterol. For that reason, environmental contamination, in addition to the presence of PFAS in some consumer products and food packaging, is particularly troubling: testing by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already found widespread exposure to PFAS across the country.

"Our communities have been impacted by PFAS contamination for far too long as we've waited for the Environmental Protection Agency and industry to set the scientific standards necessary to identify these chemicals," said Congressman Sarbanes. "My legislation will provide EPA with a blueprint for each unique PFAS chemical – a key it can use to compare test samples to improve the process of identifying PFAS wherever they are in our environment."

He continued, "I applaud the Biden Administration for taking the threat of PFAS seriously and announcing a comprehensive strategy to safeguard public health against these harmful pollutants. It is because of their swift action that the push for PFAS reference standards is even more urgent. My legislation will help develop a reference library of standards that will support the Administration's efforts to identify and address PFAS contamination across the country, reducing risks to American families."

The PFAS Reference Standards Act would build on the Biden Administration's PFAS Roadmap, which was announced last year. While the Roadmap includes instituting a national testing strategy to monitor PFAS levels, it does not provide a method to reliably identify the PFAS for which EPA is testing.

Congressman Sarbanes has long pushed chemical companies to share the science linking PFAS chemicals to health risks. The legislation introduced today was first offered as an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) but was not included in the final legislation. It was also included as part of the larger PFAS Action Act, which the House passed last year.

This legislation is supported by the National Resources Defense Council, Center for Environmental Health, Earthjustice, Environmental Working Group, League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club, Southern Environmental Law Center, Union of Concerned Scientists, Consumer Reports and Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families.

See here for bill text.

Issues:Environment