A federal court on Tuesday upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s designation of two “forever chemicals,” PFOA and PFOS, as hazardous substances.
The designation expands the federal government’s power to hold parties that release chemicals into the environment liable for their cleanup under the Superfund law, also known as CERCLA. It also creates requirements for notifications when more than one pound of those chemicals are released.
PFOA and PFOS are part of a larger group known as PFAS chemicals, which are linked to certain kinds of cancer and other negative health outcomes. PFAS are widespread in the environment and in drinking water, and are present in the blood of almost every person in the United States.