Fact Sheet: 2010/2015 PFOA Stewardship Program

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Q1. What is the 2010/2015 PFOA Stewardship Program?

In 2006, EPA invited eight major leading companies in the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) industry to join in a global stewardship program with two goals:

To commit to achieve, no later than 2010, a 95 percent reduction, measured from a year 2000 baseline, in both facility emissions to all media of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), precursor chemicals that can break down to PFOA, and related higher homologue chemicals, and product content levels of these chemicals.
To commit to working toward the elimination of these chemicals from emissions and products by 2015.

Participating companies:

Submitted baseline data on emissions and product content at the end of October 2006.
Reported annual progress toward goals each succeeding October and report progress in terms of both U.S. and global operations. Final reports were submitted in early 2016.
Companies also agreed to work cooperatively with EPA and establish scientifically credible analytical standards and laboratory methods to ensure comparability of reporting.

All public documents from the PFOA Stewardship Program are available in EPA Docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2006-0621.

Q2. Why did EPA launch the PFOA Stewardship Program?

EPA launched the PFOA Stewardship Program in January 2006 because of concerns about the impact of PFOA and long-chain PFASs on human health and the environment, including concerns about their persistence, presence in the environment and in the blood of the general U.S. population, long half-life in people, and developmental and other adverse effects in laboratory animals.

Q3. What were the goals of the program?

EPA asked the eight major companies in the PFASs industry to commit to reducing PFOA from facility emissions and product content by 95 percent no later than 2010, and to work toward eliminating PFOA from emissions and product content no later than 2015. Each of the eight companies expressed support for a global stewardship program addressing reductions in PFOA and related chemicals from both emissions and product content. Companies also noted their willingness to make a general commitment to continue to pursue research into the sources, pathways of exposure, and potential risks of these chemicals. All eight of the invited companies submitted commitments to the PFOA Stewardship Program by March 1, 2006.

Q4. What companies participated in the PFOA Stewardship Program?

Participating companies included:

Arkema
Asahi
BASF Corporation (successor to Ciba)
Clariant
Daikin
3M/Dyneon
DuPont
Solvay Solexis

The companies participating in the PFOA Stewardship Program were global companies with business operations in United States and other countries. Under the PFOA Stewardship Program, each of the companies committed to work toward a global phaseout of PFOA and related chemicals, both for U.S. operations and for the company's global business.

Q5. What was the baseline that companies used for reductions?

As a means of measuring reductions, the PFOA Stewardship Program Reporting Guidance suggested that individual companies use year 2000 data as the baseline for their company's emissions and product content information. Companies that did not have year 2000 data available were to use as a baseline the nearest year for which data were available. Read the PFOA Stewardship Program Guidance document.

In addition, to account for all of their operations or products, some companies used more than a single baseline year. Read the PFOA Stewardship Program Baseline Summary Tables.

Q6. Did the companies meet the PFOA Stewardship Program goals?

All participating companies state that they met the PFOA Stewardship Program goals. Read the latest progress reports.

Q7. How did the companies meet the PFOA Stewardship Program goals?

To meet the program goals, most companies stopped manufacture and import of long-chain PFASs, and then transitioned to alternative chemicals. Other companies exited the PFASs industry altogether.

Companies submitted annual public reports on their progress toward the goals in October of each successive year, expressing their progress in terms of company-wide percentage achievements both for U.S. operations and for the company's global business. Companies also provided to EPA detailed, confidential business information (CBI) on their progress in support of their public reports.

Q8. Are perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and other long-chain PFASs still being manufactured or imported into United States?

PFOS was not reported as manufactured (including imported) into the U.S. as part of the 2012 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) effort or the previous collection effort in 2006. CDR requires manufacturers (including importers) to report if they meet certain production volume thresholds, generally 25,000 lbs at a single site. The last time PFOS manufacture was reported to EPA as part of this collection effort was 2002. There are some limited ongoing uses of PFOS (see 40 CFR §721.9582).

The manufacture and import of PFOA has also been phased out in United States as part of the PFOA Stewardship program. Existing stocks of PFOA might still be used and there might be PFOA in some imported articles.

Q9. What other actions is EPA taking on PFASs?

To complement the PFOA Stewardship Program, EPA has issued regulations, known as Significant New Use Rules (SNURs), requiring manufacturers and processors of these chemicals to notify EPA of new uses of these chemicals before they are commercialized. Specifically, the regulations require that anyone who intends to manufacture (including import) or process any chemicals for uses contained in the SNUR must submit a notification to EPA at least 90 days before beginning the activity. This provides EPA with an opportunity to review and, if necessary, place limits on manufacturers or processors who intend to reintroduce or import products with these chemicals. Learn more about EPA’s actions on PFASs and other perfluorinated chemicals.

Since 2000, EPA has published SNURs impacting several hundred perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acid (PFCA) and perfluoroalkane sulfonate (PFSA) chemicals.

EPA anticipates finalizing a separate SNUR later this year to ensure that PFASs phased out as part of the PFOA Stewardship Program do not re-enter the marketplace without review (see 80 FR 2885)