EPA: Another Strike Against PFAS
By Kate Bertrand Connolly, Packaging Digest magazine
Are you prepared to comply with more restrictions on chemicals of concern? A legal expert also has advice on what to say to consumers.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule limiting PFAS in drinking water, announced earlier this year, establishes legally enforceable levels for several PFAS that have been found in drinking water. In this exclusive interview with George Misko, partner at Keller and Heckman, George discusses EPA’s regulation on PFAS in drinking water and what it means to packaging manufacturers and the brand owners they serve.
EPA’s National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR) are legally enforceable primary standards and treatment techniques that apply to public water systems. This latest rulemaking, “established the first federal drinking water standards specific for PFAS compounds,” said George.
“The direct impact of the new standards falls on public water systems,” he continued, also noting the effect these standards will have on the packaging industry, as well as other industrial users of the products and producers. He also pointed out that “manufacturers of packaging and brand owners need to be aware” of the plethora of state laws restricting and/or banning PFAS and the specifics of those laws. “For example, they need to know when each of the laws becomes effective, how PFAS are defined, what exemptions are available in these laws, and what reporting requirements are imposed.”
“Packaging manufacturers and brand owners need to be preparing for compliance with these restrictions now,” he stressed.
To read the full article in Packaging Digest, please click here.