PFAS Regulation is Coming... Are You Ready? A lawyer's view of the evolving regulatory landscape of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including U.S. standards, rules, and litigation

摘要

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (generally referred to as PFAS) are a group of man-made chemicals which have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries around the globe, including in the United States since the 1940s. These chemicals are persistent in the environment and in the human body (bio accumulative), and can be found in food packaging, household products, fire suppressant foam, industrial workplaces, and many consumer products. Some studies indicate that PFAS can cause reproductive and developmental, liver and kidney, and immunological effects in laboratory animals, and potentially cancer and impacts on the immune system, which is raising growing concern from governmental regulators. This platform session will provide an attorney's view of the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape of PFAS, for which a growing number of U.S. States (and the U.S. EPA) are now in the process of establishing rules and standards. The scope of such regulations will likely include limitations on PFAS in drinking water, establishment of cleanup levels in soil and groundwater, and restrictions on future use irv consumer products. Further, companies and governmental units are now facing litigation claims based on years of soil and groundwater contamination from past ubiquitous use (and application as fire suppressant) of PFAS chemicals. Get an up-to-the-minute view of PFAS regulation and litigation from the lawyers' perspective, including what you need to know to be prepared.