On November 10, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed exemptions to the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) reporting requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
As background, EPA’s final rule, issued in October 2023, requires the reporting of extensive information on all PFAS compounds manufactured or imported into the U.S. between 2011 and 2022. The requirements apply to importers of paper products made with PFAS for grease resistance, as will importers of polyolefins and other plastics in which PFAS is used as an extrusion aid not fully removed.
EPA has extended the start of the reporting period twice: once in September 2024 and again in May 2025, when EPA announced an interim final rule to extend the dates of the reporting period for data submitted on the manufacture of PFAS to October 13, 2026, for most manufacturers. According to EPA, the second delay was to allow the Agency to further develop and test the software being used to collect the data from manufacturers. (See the Packaginglaw.com articles, EPA Delays Start of PFSA Reporting Again and EPA Promulgates Final Reporting Rule for PFAS Manufacture and Use, for more background information.)
The proposed exemptions to the reporting requirements announced this month are for:
- PFAS manufactured (including imported) in mixtures or products at concentrations 0.1% or lower;
- Imported articles;
- Certain byproducts;
- Impurities;
- Research and development chemicals; and
- Non-isolated intermediates.
Noting that the PFAS reporting requirements would result in “nearly $1 billion in implementation costs on American Businesses,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin stated in a press release, “Today’s proposal is grounded in commonsense and the law, allowing us to collect the information we need to help combat PFAS contamination without placing ridiculous requirements on manufacturers, especially the small businesses that drive our country’s economy.”