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Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)

Highlights

Summary Tables of 2010/15 PFOA Stewardship Program Progress Data Available

February 1, 2008 - EPA has prepared summary tables of 2007 progress reports that display the reductions of PFOA and related chemicals in emissions and product content achieved through 2006.

First Annual Progress Reports Received

October 31, 2007 - EPA received first annual progress reports from all eight companies participating in the 2010/15 PFOA Stewardship Program.

EPA Issues Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) on 183 Perfluoroalkyl Sulfonate (PFAS) Chemicals

October 9, 2007 - EPA published a Federal Register notice finalizing a SNUR for these chemicals.

Read about the Agency's accomplishments concerning PFOA and related chemicals in the January 2007 – June 2008 accomplishments.

If you would like access to the information in the 2005-2006 report, you can go to the PDF version of that report at: http://www.epa.gov/oppt/ar/
20052006/oppt_ar_20052006.pdf (48 pp., 462KB, about PDF).

PFOA stands for perfluorooctanoic acid, a synthetic (man-made) chemical that does not occur naturally in the environment. PFOA is sometimes called "C8." Companies use PFOA to make fluoropolymers, substances with special properties that have thousands of important manufacturing and industrial applications.

Consumer products made with fluoropolymers include non-stick cookware, and breathable, all-weather clothing. These products are not PFOA, however. The information that EPA has available does not indicate that the routine use of household products poses a concern. EPA does not have any indication that the public is being exposed to PFOA through the use of Teflon®-coated or other trademarked nonstick cookware. Teflon® and other trademarked products are not PFOA. At the present time, EPA does not believe there is any reason for consumers to stop using any products because of concerns about PFOA. More Basic Information about PFOA.

EPA began investigating PFOA because it is very persistent in the environment, it was being found at very low levels both in the environment and in the blood of the general U.S. population, and it caused developmental and other adverse effects in laboratory animals. EPA summarized its concerns and identified data gaps and uncertainties about PFOA in a notice published in the Federal Register.

Beginning in 2003, EPA negotiated with multiple parties to produce missing information on PFOA through enforceable consent agreements, memoranda of understanding, and voluntary commitments. Information on these activities is available in the online dockets and on the PFOA Meetings page.

In January 2006, EPA and the eight major companies in the industry created the 2010/15 PFOA Stewardship Program. The companies committed to reduce facility emissions and product content of PFOA and related chemicals by 95 percent by 2010, and to work toward eliminating emissions and product content by 2015.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control study published in 2007 reported significant reductions in human blood concentrations of PFOS and PFOA from 1999-2000 compared to the most recent data in 2003-2004. The geometric mean for PFOA in human blood was reduced by 25 percent over this period and PFOS was reduced by 32 percent. The report concluded that these reductions were most likely related to changes brought about by EPA efforts on these chemicals and other related efforts by government and industry.

EPA has established the following public dockets for the various activities related to PFOA:

Information on Accessing Public Dockets

You can access the publicly available materials in these dockets either electronically at www.regulations.gov/ or in hard copy at the EPA Docket Center, which is located in the EPA Headquarters Library, Infoterra Room, EPA West, Rm. 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, D.C. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744. To access the electronic dockets through www.regulations.gov/, from the main page locate the "Advance Search" tab and select "Docket." On the search screen that appears, enter the appropriate docket ID number in the "Docket ID" field and click "Search." [Note: The search screen that appears on the main page only searches rulemaking dockets that are open for public comment. As such, it will not locate any of the PFOA dockets.]

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