EPA Quietly Revises Claim That Two Toxic PFAS Chemicals Were Phased Out
The agency softened website language on PFOA and PFOS while allowing a Houston firm to keep producing plastic container barriers that leach the compounds.
The Environmental Protection Agency has revised language on its website, walking back a previous assertion that the United States had fully phased out two of the most hazardous PFAS chemicals — perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) — without public announcement or explanation.
The EPA's own scientific assessments have concluded that virtually no level of exposure to either compound in drinking water can be considered safe. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified PFOA as "carcinogenic to humans" and PFOS as "possibly carcinogenic," placing both among the most scrutinized synthetic chemicals in the global regulatory landscape.
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Despite those findings, the EPA has continued to permit Houston-based Inhance to manufacture fluorinated barriers for plastic containers — a process from which PFOA has been found to leach at elevated levels into the containers' contents. The company produces as many as 200 million such barriers each year, supplying industries across the American economy.
The quiet website revision raises questions about the agency's regulatory posture under its current leadership, as environmental advocates and public health researchers have increasingly scrutinized federal enforcement of PFAS-related rules. The change in wording, made without a formal announcement, contrasts with the EPA's stated commitment to addressing PFAS contamination as a priority public health concern.
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