ECOS Meeting: SPAN Calls for Independent Expert Advisory Panel on Responsible, Science-Based PFAS Management
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 4, 2024
Contact: media@span.org
SPAN Executive Director outlines strategies to drive effective PFAS management at federal and state levels, encouraging a uniform, risk-based federal policy approach.
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND – Today, Kevin Fay, Executive Director of the Sustainable PFAS Action Network(SPAN), took part in a panel discussion titled “PFAS in Products and the Supply Chain” at the 2024 Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) Fall Meeting.
Environmental agency leaders from across the U.S. attended the session, where panelists discussed the challenges of PFAS management and offered solutions for PFAS in the supply chain and essential products.
When addressing responsible PFAS management, Fay encouraged risk-based strategies at both federal and state levels and outlined key approaches to drive effective policy solutions, including:
A uniform, risk-based federal policy approach
Focus on identified commercially active compounds
Guidance on Currently Unavoidable Uses and a rapid approval process for alternatives
Assistance to states in identifying and remediating contaminated sites
The organization of an independent expert advisory panel to guide scientific, risk, and management information
“Effective PFAS management is within reach, but it requires a uniform federal approach. By implementing a uniform, risk-based federal policy, we can achieve long-term protection of health and the environment, support state-managed remediation programs, and safeguard the essential uses of PFAS that are vital to society,” said Fay.
The discussion included insights from John Kane, Director of Infrastructure at the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works; Andrew Pawlisz, Regulatory Toxicologist & Environmental Risk Assessor at Trihydro Corporation; and was moderated by Elizabeth Biser, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
SPAN is eager to collaborate with state and federal policymakers, NGOs, and academic partners to advance a uniform federal strategy for PFAS management that is consistent with up-to-date scientific findings and risk-based decision making.
Fay concluded, “To accelerate responsible PFAS management policies and nationwide cleanups, we need centralized, science-based guidance from both private and public sectors that prioritizes the compounds posing the greatest risk to public health and the environment.”
About SPAN
Formed in 2021, SPAN members recognize that America’s innovators and industries depend on the responsible management of PFAS compounds. The organization supports science- and risk-based policy approaches that recognize the unique differences of these compounds. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified more than 10,000 materials that are likely to meet the broadest definition of PFAS. However, the number of compounds currently commercially manufactured or used in the United States today is closer to 700. Recognizing the essential role of PFAS compounds in enabling economic prosperity, delivering lifesaving equipment and medicine, climate change mitigation, and national security, among many other important applications, SPAN is committed to their sustainable use and responsible management. More information about SPAN and industries they support is available by visiting www.span.org.
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