Written by Lydia R. Dorrance, Ph.D. and Adam Love, Ph.D.
of Roux Associates, Inc.
PFAS are a broad class of surfactant-like chemicals that are characterized by their many carbon-fluorine bonds. Since the 1950s, PFAS have been widely used in numerous and varied products with industrial and commercial applications. However, concerns regarding potentially adverse human health and ecological impacts from exposure to PFAS chemicals have resulted in increased regulatory attention and lawsuits alleging bodily injury and/or property damage. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has restricted hundreds of PFAS from the market under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and facilitated the elimination of specific PFAS by eight major companies as part of the global PFOA Stewardship Program. These actions have resulted in most manufacturers of products that utilize PFAS to reformulate their PFAS-contained products to avoid the specific compounds that have been phased out.