REGULATION & COMPLIANCE
US PFAS reporting
Anyone who manufactured or imported PFAS, including mixtures and articles, in the US in any year from 2011 to 2022 must report on them under the PFAS Reporting Rule. 1 The rule covers anything regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act( TSCA). Examples of articles in this context include textiles, electrical equipment and components, automotive components, pipes, wires and cables, cookware and transportation equipment.
None of the typical TSCA reporting exemptions are included in the current rule: the reporting requirements include by-products or impurities, trace amounts of PFAS, and intentionally added and unintentionally present PFAS. PFAS are defined, in this rule, as including at least one of these three structures:
• R-( CF2)-CF( R’) R’’, where the CF 2
& CF moieties are both saturated carbons
• R-CF 2
OCF 2
-R’, where R & R’ can either be F, O or saturated carbons
• CF 3 C( CF 3
) R’ R’’, where R’ & R’’ can either be F or saturated carbons
The US Environmental Protection Agency( EPA) will provide a nonexhaustive list of in-scope substances, but any substances that meet the definition, including fluoropolymers, must be reported on. The required reporting information includes uses, production volumes, disposal, exposures and hazards.
The standard of due diligence includes all information in a person’ s possession or control, as well as all information that a reasonable person in the same position might be expected to possess, control or know. This may require making enquiries outside the company.
Complicating factors we encountered while assisting clients included packaging associated with non-TSCAregulated products, the involvement of non-US companies in online sales and issues arising from mergers and acquisitions.
Feedback & potential changes
The first change concerned reporting timelines: the EPA delayed the start of the submission period by nine months to 13 April 2026. According to the agency, the extension allows it to further develop and test the software being used to collect data from manufacturers. The deadline for the reporting period is 13 October 2026 for most manufacturers and 13 April 2027 for small manufacturers reporting exclusively as article importers.
Taking into consideration chemical companies’ requests to amend the reporting rule to include categorical exemptions and production volume thresholds typically included in
Table 1- Schedules, deadlines & maximum quantities prescribed in Canadian regulations
Explanation Time( days) Quantities( kg) 1 Special category chemicals 30 1,000 1 Special category chemicals – update of the information 30 10,000
2 Additional information is required from Schedule 2 if the substance is a biochemical or biopolymer for all notified substances
3 Special category polymers 30 10,000 4 Chemicals not specified on the NDSL 5 100 4 Chemicals specified on the NDSL 30 1,000 5 Chemicals not specified on the NDSL 60 1,000 5 * Chemicals specified on the NDSL 60 10,000 6 Chemicals not specified on the NDSL 75 10,000 9 All polymers 30 1,000 10 * Non-RRR polymers, either on NDSL or all reactants on DSL NDSL 60 10,000 11 Non-RRR polymers not on NDSL and not all reactants on DSL NDSL 60 10,000
Notes: DSL = Domestic Substances List; NDSL = Non-Domestic Substances List; RRR = Reduced Regulatory Requirement chemical reporting rules, the EPA stated on 13 November 2025 that it will consolidate the industry-proposed exemptions while providing the same regulatory relief and information needed for rule-making. 2
The proposed rule reduces reporting requirements by exempting imported articles, de minimis quantities, and certain by-products, impurities and nonisolated intermediates. Specifically, if PFAS make up ≤0.1 % of an item or mixture, the company that makes it would be exempt from the reporting requirement. The exemptions are intended to be similar to those included in the TSCA Chemical Data Reporting( CDR) rule.
The exemptions may draw potential legal challenges from environmental groups that have pressed the EPA to fill information gaps about the hundreds of fluorinated chemicals in commerce.
Under the proposal, the start of the reposting window may be postponed again, allowing time to review the rule after it is finalised. Reporting would begin 60 days after the effective day of a final rule amending the existing regulations, with reports due three months later.
Despite industry concerns about reporting burdens, the proposal does not seek to roll back the existing requirement for companies to use the OECD harmonised template( OHT) format to submit environmental and health information. The EPA, however, proposed to clarify the requirements related to using the OHT and whether OHTs are required for unpublished study reports on environmental and health effects.
In addition, although the proposed rule does not suggest changing the scope of reportable substances, it indicated the EPA’ s receptiveness to changes like limiting reporting for substances with a CAS number. Comments on the PFAS reporting rule changes were due by 29 December 2025.
As always, companies should be aware of potential disclosure of confidential business information( CBI) when reporting. They should
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