PFAS Cloud Diagram

The EPA’s Roadmap for PFAS

Per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of manufactured compounds that are extensively used to make everyday items more resistant to stains, grease, and water. They have historically been used in a wide range of industrial processes and consumer products, including carpets, clothing, fabrics for furniture, packaging for food, cookware and firefighting foam.  They are commonly called “forever chemicals” because they persist in both the environment and the human body.

According to the EPA, due to this widespread use, PFAS have been found worldwide in soil, groundwater, surface water, animal tissue, and even human blood. The main ways humans are exposed to PFAS are through diet, including food and drinking water. 

The EPA revealed their PFAS Strategic Roadmap in October 2021, which provided a comprehensive approach to addressing PFAS. The roadmap was a timeline for the EPA’s planned actions and goals to implement additional policies aimed at protecting public health, the environment, and accountability for  those who pollute. Each action detailed in the PFAS Roadmap is a step towards protecting communities from PFAS contamination, with an overall goal of lasting protective solutions.

EPA’s Roadmap

Since PFAS is complex, and the use varied, the EPA cannot address the issue of “forever chemicals” by focusing on a single use or exposure path. Instead, they have summarized the approach through three segments: Research, Restrict and Remediate.

Research

The research the EPA has been performing is focused on how PFAS impacts people and the environment. It has been conducting a nationwide effort for over 3 years to determine how often PFAS is present in drinking water and its concentration as part of the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR). This allows the EPA to gather and share data with the public on 29 different PFAS elements in drinking water from about 10,000 water systems. This information will assist the Agency in deciding on future measures to protect public health under the Safe Drinking Water Act and aid water systems in creating new PFAS regulations.

This research also extends to finding more precise measures to detect and measure PFAS in the environment and further understanding PFAS impact on human health. The cleanup and management of PFAS contamination is also part of the EPA’s overall roadmap. The EPA also needs to further understand what the “Essential use” of PFAS is and how substitute compounds, or their lack thereof,  can impact society.

Restrict

In September 2023, the US EPA finalized a rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) mandating all manufacturers and importers of PFAS and PFAS-containing products to report details to the EPA, going back to the year 2011. This included information on chemical identity, uses, production and processing volumes, byproducts, environmental and health impacts, worker exposure, and disposal methods. This initiative aims to enhance understanding of PFAS usage to facilitate research, monitoring, and regulation of these substances. This restriction is via legal means to eliminate PFAS being introduced into the environment.  

In 2024, the EPA finalized the classification of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). This regulatory step allows the EPA to require cleanup and cost recovery for any PFOA and PFOS releases. 

Also in 2024, as part of the PFAS Roadmap, the EPA created the first federal, legally regulated drinking water standards for six PFAS elements. These standards are based on drinking Water Maximum Contaminant levels (MCL)s, which require federal standards for drinking water that mandate public water systems to lower the concentrations of six PFAS in treated water. Public water systems will have until 2029 to monitor their treated water and apply treatment solutions to reduce PFAS levels in finished water.

The EPA anticipates that this will “reduce PFAS exposure for approximately 100 million people and prevent thousands of premature deaths, tens of thousands of serious illnesses, including cancers and liver and heart impacts in adults, and immune and developmental impacts to infants and children.” (EPA. 2025. “Key EPA Actions to Address PFAS.”)

Remediate

As PFAS becomes regulated, the EPA’s regulations can begin to enforce action. Cleaning up PFAS contamination is a multi-layered issue including regulations, acceptance by industries, and large monetary investment. The overall goal is to assist companies by on how to either substitute PFAS with safer alternatives or to reduce exposure if they cannot be replaced by another substance.

Several states, such as Washington and Pennsylvania have passed regulations to reduce or ban PFAS from food containers and other materials.

Cleaning up PFAS is challenging, but there are potential solutions available to address the issue. One approach involves filtering drinking water to remove PFAS using activated carbon or ion-exchange resins. While this method requires financial and energy resources, some communities have already started implementing it. 

Another potential solution to permanently address the PFAS problem is to eliminate them at their source during the manufacturing process. This can be accomplished by altering chemical formulations or completely replacing the chemicals with alternatives that do not pose risks to the environment and human health.

In Conclusion

In its 2024 report, the EPA outlines the progress made by its Roadmap. In 2025, the EPA will continue to focus on efforts to reduce exposure to PFAS and ensure businesses are held accountable. Involvement in the latest research, and creating enforceable regulations is crucial for safeguarding public health and the environment. 

GBTS can test for PFAS through water and soil samples and provide recommendations for next steps.

Gallagher Bassett can help you navigate your PFAS related questions and exposure via assessment, testing, remediation and management.  Please reach out to us today for assistance.”

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