WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), today issued the following statement on a proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would eliminate an exemption on reporting the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI):

“The first rule in helping to protect communities from toxic chemicals is making sure that we have an understanding of all the sources of contamination that they face. Until now, many companies have been able to avoid PFAS reporting requirements by claiming that these forever chemicals were only a small part of the products they made or used. With this proposed rule, EPA is closing a huge loophole in our ability to track where and how PFAS enter our environment. I commend EPA for taking another critical step to better safeguard Americans from PFAS exposure and look forward to continuing to work together on addressing this pervasive public health threat.”