PFAS, short for per- and polyfluorinated substances, are a class of chemicals used to make heat, grease, and water-resistant coatings. These chemicals have been used in a wide variety of products ranging from non-stick pans to personal care items to firefighting foams. PFAS are extremely durable chemicals deriving their utility from strong molecular bonds. However, those bonds also prevent PFAS from degrading in the environment. Given their widespread use, they can be found virtually everywhere, including in myriad consumer and other products, and in soil and groundwater—including on farmland and other sites not typically associated with environmental contamination. Moreover, EPA and state regulators have determined that exposure to almost any level of PFAS can result in health risks. Consequently, it’s no surprise that PFAS regulation and lawsuits involving PFAS exposure and contamination have recently proliferated, and continue to be in the spotlight. This article provides background information on federal PFAS regulation and surveys the current landscape of PFAS litigation.

The EPA’s Regulation of PFAS

The EPA first regulated PFAS 2002 when manufacturers were required to report the manufacturing and importing of 75 PFAS chemicals to the agency. In 2009, EPA established provisional PFAS health advisories under the Safe Drinking Water Act. In 2016, EPA released a lifetime drinking water health advisory for two prominent PFAS chemicals, PFOS and PFOA, indicating a concentration over 70 parts per trillion (ppt) of those PFAS pose health risks. In June 2022, the agency amended this number to a staggeringly low 0.02 ppt for PFOS and 0.004 ppt for PFOA.