On April 8, 2021, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the release of an updated toxicity assessment for the substance per-fluoro butane sulfonic acid (PFBS) which is a member of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under their Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA). EPA states that this assessment is highly significant in part of its contribution towards the agency’s action & increasing research information in assessing the substance.
According to the agency’s announcement “EPA, federal agencies, states, tribes, and local communities can use the PFBS toxicity assessment, along with specific exposure and other relevant information, to determine if and when it is necessary to take action to address potential health risks associated with human exposures to PFBS under appropriate regulations and statutes.” In addition, it indicates that this assessment has highly gone through all mandatory reviews including the major input EPA received from external peer review authored by expert career scientists in EPA’s Office of Research and Development, and notably this assessment was not compromised for any political people & party.
PFBS is a replacement chemical for PFOS, a highly hazardous chemical that was phased out by primary US manufacturers in 2002. As per the latest fact sheet released by EPA earlier, it does not have any plans for issuing a regulation for PFBS. PFBS has been highly used in environment and consumer products, including surface water, wastewater, drinking water, dust, carpeting and carpet cleaners, and floor wax.
Reference: https://www.epa.gov/pfas/learn-about-human-health-toxicity-assessment-pfbs
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