Final Recommended Aquatic Life Criteria and Benchmarks for Select PFAS

Issuing agencies

Abstract

As part of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) commitment to safeguard the environment from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the agency is announcing the availability of national "Final Recommended Freshwater Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria and Acute Saltwater Aquatic Life Benchmarks for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)" and "Final Recommended Freshwater Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria and Acute Saltwater Aquatic Life Benchmarks for Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS)," pursuant to the Clean Water Act (CWA). The EPA is also announcing the availability of Acute Freshwater Aquatic Life Benchmarks for eight data-limited perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), 2H-perfluoro-2-decenoic acid (8:2 FTUCA), and 2H,2H,3H,3H-pefluorodecanoic acid (7:3 FTCA). These final CWA recommended criteria and benchmarks provide information that States and Tribes may consider when adopting water quality standards. Consistent with Clean Water Act sections 304(a)(1) and (a)(2), the EPA expects to update these recommended criteria and benchmark values from time to time as new information becomes available. This announcement is in accordance with Clean Water Act section 304(a)(3), which directs the EPA to publish information developed under sections 304(a)(1) and (a)(2) in the Federal Register and make it available to States, Tribes, and the public.