EPA Toxicity Assessment of GenX PFAS Chemicals is Positive Step Following Roadmap and TRI Concerns

WASHINGTON ​—The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its human health toxicity assessment for GenX chemicals, a subgroup of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), today. 

The EPA’s assessment is a critical review of the known impacts of GenX chemicals on human health and includes the level of exposure the EPA believes will not cause harm. GenX is being used to replace other hazardous PFAS chemicals and has been found at concerning levels within the environment, particularly in communities near industrial facilities.

The following is statement from Anna Reade, Staff Scientist at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):

“Now that key scientific recommendations have been integrated into the GenX assessment, it is significantly improved from previous drafts and becomes an important guidance to set the standards needed to help protect people across the country threatened by these chemicals. GenX is marketed as the ‘safe replacement’ for PFOA, but the fact that EPA indicates that GenX poses health concerns at levels 10 times lower than PFOA makes clear that those claims are not supported by science.”

Additional NRDC Resources:

• New EPA Data: Huge Amounts of PFAS Underreported and Burned (Blog, October 2021)
• EPA PFAS Roadmaps Shows Promise, Falls Short Of Immediate and Bold Action Needed to Stop Environmental and Health Crisis (Media Statement, October 2021)
• A Review of PFAS as a Chemical Class in the Textile Sector (Report, May 2021)
• The Big Reveal: Hundreds of Health Studies on Next Gen PFAS (Blog, April 2021)
• Defending the Science on PFAS (Blog, February 2021)
• The Scientific Basis for Managing PFAS as a Chemical Class (Blog, June 2020)

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.