Herb Estreicher and David Fischer Quoted in Chemical Watch Article on EU Proposed PFAS Ban Potentially Boosting U.S. State-Level Prohibitions

Keller and Heckman attorneys Herb Estreicher and David Fischer were quoted in the Chemical Watch article, “Europe's proposed PFAS ban could boost US state-level prohibitions.” The article discusses how the EU per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) restriction proposal could influence U.S. states to require disclosure or elimination of goods containing the substance class. Herb pointed out that coastal states “will be emboldened to pursue further and broader PFAS bans.”

The proposal will most likely have less of an influence at the national level, but it could still inform the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) work. However, according to David, the EPA “will not want to get ahead of the science as it continues to manage the PFAS issue and therefore will reject anything like the EU PFAS proposal.”

Still, Herb said it could increase pressure on the EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) to embrace the underlying OECD PFAS definition, which is wider than the agency’s working definition.    

Herb also added that “if the [European] PFAS restriction is adopted, it would embolden Democratic members on the Hill to seek comprehensive PFAS legislation,” but “success will likely depend, as always, on which party is in control.”

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