National PFAS Testing Strategy
To advance the agency’s understanding of the impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), EPA has developed a national testing strategy that will require PFAS manufacturers to provide the agency with toxicity data and information on categories of PFAS chemicals to inform future regulatory efforts. EPA has selected PFAS to be tested based on an approach that breaks the large number of PFAS into smaller categories based on similar features and considers what existing data are available for each category. EPA’s initial set of test orders for PFAS were strategically selected from more than 20 different categories of PFAS.
- National PFAS Testing Strategy (pdf)
- Read more about EPA’s overall work to manage PFAS risks through the PFAS Council and the associated Roadmap which describes EPA’s vision toward PFAS over the next several years.
- Learn more about EPA’s work to manage risks from PFAS under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
Most of the hundreds of PFAS currently in commerce have limited or no toxicity data, and if EPA attempts to research them one at a time, it will be impossible for EPA to expeditiously understand, let alone address, the risks these substances may pose to human health and the environment. To address this data gap and fundamentally advance our understanding of these substances, EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention and Office of Research and Development have collaborated to develop this National PFAS Testing Strategy (Strategy) to deepen the understanding of the impacts of PFAS, including potential hazards to human health and the environment.
This Strategy will help EPA identify and select PFAS for which the Agency will require testing using TSCA authorities. The Strategy develops categories of PFAS based on information about similarities in structure, physical-chemical properties, and existing test data on the toxicity of PFAS (both publicly available and submitted to EPA under TSCA). Consideration of the existing toxicity data prior to requiring further testing also ensures adherence to the TSCA goal of reducing animal testing. EPA will use the Strategy to identify important gaps in existing data and to select representative chemicals within identified categories for additional study.
EPA is taking a phased approach to issuing test orders pursuant to the strategy beginning with human health effects on representative test substances for 24 PFAS categories in Phase I. The first test order was issued in June 2022, and the agency plans to issue additional Phase I orders in the coming months.