Carper Statement on EPA Rule Designating Certain PFAS Chemicals as Hazardous Substances

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, today released the statement below after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated two Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the Superfund law.

"The Environmental Protection Agency is taking important and necessary action today to protect Americans from PFAS chemicals and hold polluters accountable.

"These chemicals, though currently important parts of our economy, also represent pervasive threats to public health. Going forward, we need to do everything we can to make sure they do not enter our drinking water or soil.

"We need strategic national policies and investments to help us stop the spread of PFAS contamination. Today's rule is the first step toward holding the actual polluters accountable."