The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States has delivered a crucial rule for the packaging industry.
The agency has issued a rule which requires the report of extensive information on potentially thousands of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
The new rule points to producers of paper products made with PFAS (to increase the resistance of the product), who will have to submit these reports. The decision taken by the EPA includes also all those producers of polyolefins and other plastics that use PFAS as extrusion aid.
The estimated cost to comply to this rule, following the EPA analysis, will be $843 million for the industry and will comply at least 1.462 PFAS.
The information required to be reported includes, for example, chemical identity, uses, volumes made and processed, byproducts, environmental and health effects, worker exposure, and disposal.
The new rule will roll out as from the 13th of November 2023. It includes a year of “information collection”, with six months of reporting period (November 12, 2024, to May 8, 2025).
This can be considered the first time where EPA releases such an important rule with a swath of finished article product manufacturers who are only users of a targeted chemical substance, even though bringing within its jurisdiction many players not familiar with TSCA provisions and applications.
IBE-BVI members can obtain by simple request the Toxic substances Control Act -Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements for Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Federal Register 40 CFR Part 705.
