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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 13 / Friday, January 22, 2021 / Proposed Rules
present in order to ensure that the new chemicals do not present an unreasonable risk to health or the environment.
TSCA Section 5a SNURs can be used to require notice to EPA before chemical substances and mixtures are used in new ways that might create concerns.
Under TSCA section 5a, EPA can determine that a use of a chemical substance is a significant new use.
EPA must make this determination by rule after considering all relevant factors, including those listed in TSCA
section 5a2:
Projected volume of manufacturing and processing of a chemical substance.
Extent to which a use changes the type or form of exposure of humans or the environment to a chemical substance.
Extent to which a use increases the magnitude and duration of exposure of humans or the environment to a chemical substance.
Reasonably anticipated manner and methods of manufacturing, processing, distribution in commerce, and disposal of a chemical substance.
Once EPA designates a use of a chemical substance as a significant new use, TSCA section 5a requires persons to submit a significant new use notice SNUN to EPA at least 90 days before they manufacture including import or process the chemical substance for that use. The SNUN obligates EPA to assess risks that may be associated with that significant new use, including risks to potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations identified as relevant by EPA under the conditions of use; make a determination under the statute; and, if appropriate, regulate the proposed activity before it occurs.
EPA has issued the following SNURs for PFOS and PFAS:
On March 11, 2002, EPA issued a final SNUR Ref. 8 for 13 PFAS
specifically included in the voluntary phase out of PFOS by 3M that took place between 2000 and 2002.
On December 9, 2002, EPA issued a final SNUR Ref. 9 for 75 PFAS
specifically included in the voluntary phase out of PFOS by 3M that took place between 2000 and 2002.
On October 9, 2007, EPA issued a final SNUR Ref. 10 for 183 PFAS that were on the public TSCA Inventory and have the characteristic PFAS chemical structure of a perfluorinated carbon chain Rf greater than, or equal to, C5
attached to an SO2 group connected to the rest of the molecule. In addition, the proposal also included those chemicals with Rf ranges of perfluorinated carbon chains shorter than C5, and greater than C5, for example, C4C12 and C6C12.

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On October 22, 2013, EPA issued a final SNUR Ref. 11 for certain PFOArelated chemicals as part of carpets, a category of potentially harmful chemicals once used on carpets to impart soil, water, and stain resistance.
On July 27, 2020, EPA issued a final SNUR Ref. 12 for certain PFOA-related chemicals. The SNUR modifies the requirements for a subset of LCPFAC
chemical substances in the existing SNUR at 40 CFR 721.10536 in the following ways: 1 Designating manufacturing including importing or processing of LCPFAC chemical substances listed in the list of LCPFAC
chemical substances for any use that was no longer ongoing after December 31, 2015, as a significant new use; and 2 Designating manufacturing including importing or processing of PFOA or its salts, which are considered LCPFAC chemical substances, and all other LCPFAC chemical substances for any use not ongoing as of January 21, 2015, the date on which the proposed rule was published, as a significant new use. For this final SNUR, EPA also made an exemption at 40 CFR 721.45f inapplicable for persons who import LCPFAC chemical substances listed in the list of LCPFAC chemical substances in this unit and PFOA or its salts as part of a surface coating on articles because there is reasonable potential for exposure to LCPFAC chemical substances, including PFOA, if these chemical substances are incorporated as surface coatings in articles and then imported.
In addition, in December 2020, EPA
issued draft guidance Ref. 13 for public comment outlining which imported articles are covered by the July 2020 final rule for certain long-chain PFAS. After considering comments, EPA intends to issue the final guidance promptly.
PFOS was not reported as manufactured including imported into the United States as part of the 2012
Chemical Data Reporting CDR effort or the previous collection effort in 2006.
CDR requires manufacturers including importers to report if they meet certain production volume thresholds, generally 25,000 lbs at a single site. The last time PFOS manufacture was reported to EPA as part of this collection effort was 2002; nonetheless, there are some limited ongoing uses of PFOS see 40 CFR 721.9582.
I. Increasing Research and Understanding PFAS
Building on the work outlined in the February 2019 PFAS Action Plan, the Agency expanded its research efforts and capabilities by launching the PFAS

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Innovative Treatment Team PITT in spring 2020. The PITT was a full-time, multi-disciplinary research team that concentrated their efforts and expertise on a single problem for six months: How to remove, destroy, and test PFAScontaminated media and waste. The PITTs goals were to:
Assess current and emerging destruction methods being explored by EPA, universities, other research organizations, and industry;
Explore the efficacy of destruction methods while considering by-products to avoid creating new environmental hazards; and Evaluate destruction methods feasibility, performance, and costs to validate potential solutions.
This work initiated under the PITT
will add practical knowledge to EPAs efforts under the PFAS Action Plan.
States, tribes, and local governments will be able to use this information to select the approach that best fits their circumstances, leading to greater confidence in cleanup operations and safer communities.
Besides the innovative work of PITT, EPA and its researchers continue to work hard in many other areas to help the nation address PFAS and protect public health. This work includes:
Validating methods to detect and quantify PFAS in various environmental media, such as water, air, and biosolids.
EPA has already released a number of these methods, including Methods 533
and 537.1 that together can measure 29
PFAS in drinking water;
Evaluating treatment technologies that remove PFAS from drinking water.
For example, researchers are investigating the effectiveness of pointof-use systems and have recently published research on commercially available systems that use both reverse osmosis and granular activated carbon;
Developing standard human health toxicity reference values for certain PFAS. For example, Agency scientists are working on a toxicity assessment for PFBS, GenX chemicals, and five other PFAS that will help states, tribes, and local communities understand the toxicity of these substances so that they can make more informed choices to protect the publics health;
Providing technical assistance to states and tribes as they work to address a variety of PFAS challenges; and Funding external researchers to better understand the potential impacts of PFAS on water quality and availability in rural communities and agricultural operations across the United States.

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