PFOA Releases Are falling

Eight chemical manufacturers have reported declining releases of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and related substances, including perfluorinated telomers, EPA announced last week. PFOA persists in the environment and is suspected of causing health problems, including cancer. The telomers, which are fluorinated alcohols, are believed to break down into PFOA in the environment. The decrease in industrial PFOA and telomer releases into the environment occurred at plants in the U.S. and elsewhere during 2006, according to figures provided to EPA by the companies Arkema, Asahi, Ciba, Clariant, Daikin, DuPont, 3M/Dyneon, and Solvay Solexis. The firms are taking steps to curb their releases in response to a challenge from EPA to cut releases of PFOA and the amount of the chemical found in products 95% from 2000 levels by 2010 or earlier. Data on the companies' 2006 releases, which the companies reported to EPA in 2007, are available at epa.gov/opptintr/pfoa/pubs/preports.htm.