Protect your business and reputation: Mitigate risks by staying ahead of PFAS regulations

We understand that such low MCLs, if they become promulgated, might cause you anything from unforeseen expenses to business disruption to consumer fraud lawsuits alleging “greenwashing” or false advertising against products containing PFAS. It is anticipated that lawsuits will increase in number in 2023 as part of a broader effort by consumer and environment advocates.

This advocacy effort also involves pushing for legislation at the state level in the US to ban these chemicals in a growing number of products. EPA has recognized PFAS as a hazardous substance, and as part of the new MCL proposal, has stated that PFOA and PFOS are likely to cause cancer in humans.

Regardless of the business sector, the proposed MCLs, the potential for lawsuits involving PFAS, and grassroots advocacy efforts will impact the manufacturing industry and potentially expose you to unforeseen liabilities. These factors could affect anyone who has even small amounts of PFAS in their products, whether intentional or not, or in the soil, groundwater, or surface water on or next to their sites.

Rest assured, we have a viable solution in the form of risk assessment.

PFAS are already present in the environment and in a variety of consumer goods, including foods and food packaging. The low PFAS thresholds set by drinking water regulations make it more likely that chemical analyses of products or environmental samples will show levels above permitted limits, where they exist, which could put you out of compliance even if the actual health risk posed by those levels is minimal. In addition, PFAS without permitted limits may be found in these analyses. In 2023, the focus has shifted from simply checking if the amount of PFAS in samples is within the permitted limits to assessing the health risks associated with consuming PFAS. Now it is more crucial to dig deeper into the actual dangers of PFAS exposures and toxicity.

"Risk assessment is a scientific tool that offers perspectives on both exposure science and toxicology for humans and for the environment to help you navigate and make sense of the ever-changing PFAS regulatory situation."

It’s a process that uses scientific methods to evaluate the potential health risks that exposure to a substance may pose to humans and the environment, and involves several steps, including hazard identification, exposure assessment, toxicity assessment, and risk characterization.

The process begins with understanding the potential sources, environmental transport mechanisms, exposure pathways, and receptors to ensure that the assessment is protective of health, and culminates in calculations of hazard index, among other measures, similar to what is needed to meet the proposed PFAS MCLs. In this way, risk assessment puts analytical chemistry results in a real-life, health-based context to raise awareness of the potential health risks posed, regardless of how your chemistry results compare to government-set values.

Our goal is to communicate potential risks to human health and the environment to facilitate informed participation and decision-making that may be required to address PFAS in products and environmental media. And we walk you through reviewing the information and communicating your actual—not assumed—health risks and liabilities.

Often, the earlier a problem is identified, the better your outcome. Whether it is a potential introduction to PFAS or another emerging contaminant in your product, packaging, or environmental media at your site, identifying PFAS sources and where they may be introduced in manufacturing and to the environment is essential to mitigating risk. Regardless of whether you have already identified PFAS in your products or at your site, or are in the process of screening for them, our expert team is available to help and guide you along every step of the way.

Risk assessment guides you through the aftermath of PFAS contamination, consequences, and risk communication, helping you determine the best course of action and stay within the boundaries of the ever-changing legal landscape around PFAS.