U.S. EPA

PFAS: Civilian Usage and Disposal

This week we continue our series of blogs reflecting on material covered in the “Impact of PFAS on Environmental Litigation (Virtual) Conference” hosted by Perrin Conferences by examining the growing focus on civilian usage and disposal of PFAS.

When certain PFAS chemicals first became cause for concern, it was the manufacturers of the chemicals themselves—firms such as DuPont and 3M—that were the focus of litigation. As focus broadened to end-users and disposers of chemicals that contained harmful PFAS, it was largely the military that came under scrutiny due to its widespread use of AFFF firefighting foam, as we described in last week’s blog. Today, however, there is also widespread focus on civil users, distributors, and disposers of PFAS-containing material, a point driven home by conference presenters.