[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 181 (Wednesday, September 20, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64890-64892]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20332]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2023-0033]


Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Consumer Products

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for information.

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SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission or CPSC) is 
publishing this notice to request information on per- and 
polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) used in commerce or potentially used 
in consumer products, potential exposures associated with the use of 
PFAS in consumer products, and potential human health effects 
associated with exposures to PFAS from their use in consumer products. 
This notice also includes the availability information of a related 
contractor report.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted by November 20, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You can submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2023-
0033, by any of the following methods:
    Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments to 
www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. 
Do not submit through this website: confidential business information, 
trade secret information, or other sensitive or protected information 
that you do not want to be available to the public. CPSC typically does 
not accept comments submitted by email, except as described below.
    Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier/Confidential Written Submissions: CPSC 
encourages you to submit electronic comments by using 
www.regulations.gov. You may, however, submit comments by mail, hand 
delivery, or courier to: Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product 
Safety Commission, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; 
telephone: (301) 504-7479.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number. CPSC may post all comments without change, including any 
personal identifiers, contact information, or other personal 
information provided to www.regulations.gov. If you wish to submit 
confidential business information, trade secret information, or other 
sensitive or protected information that you do not want to be available 
to the public, you may submit such comments by mail, hand delivery, or

[[Page 64891]]

courier, or you may email them to: [email protected].
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to www.regulations.gov, and insert the docket 
number, CPSC-2023-0033, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts. The report (Characterizing PFAS Chemistries, Sources, Uses, 
and Regulatory Trends in U.S. and International Markets) is available 
in the docket, under ``Supporting and Related Material'' on the 
Commission's website at https://www.cpsc.gov/content/CPSC-PFAS-WhitePaper, and from the CPSC's Office of the Secretary.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Bevington, Directorate for 
Health Sciences, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5 Research 
Place, Rockville, MD 20850; telephone: (301) 987-2009; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    PFAS are manufactured chemicals that contain multiple fluorine 
atoms attached to carbon chains. There is no single, universally 
accepted definition of PFAS or authoritative list of substances, 
although some researchers and organizations have published preferred 
definitions or have generated such lists. The U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and other data sources indicate that there are 
thousands of different PFAS that could be registered on U.S. or global 
chemical inventories and are potentially in commerce, hundreds of PFAS 
with reported use information from the U.S. or international sources, 
and several dozen PFAS that are more commonly measured in consumer 
products, the environment, or in people. PFAS have a variety of 
applications, including in non-stick cookware; water-repellent and 
stain resistant clothing, carpets and other fabrics; some cosmetics; 
some firefighting foams; and common home products such as cleaning 
supplies, waxes, coatings, adhesives, paints, and sealants. This 
Request for Information concerns ``consumer products'' which includes 
products used in or around the home or school that are subject to CPSC 
jurisdiction under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), 15 U.S.C. 
2051 et seq., Federal Hazardous Substances Act, 15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq., 
and other statutes administered by CPSC. Cosmetics, drugs, and 
pesticides generally are not within CPSC's jurisdiction under the CPSA.
    PFAS can move through the environment, and they break down very 
slowly. They are commonly referred to as ``forever chemicals.'' \1\ 
Consumer products containing PFAS contribute to aggregate exposures 
through mediated (e.g., ingestion of indoor dust and inhalation of 
indoor air) and contact (e.g., mouthing of products and direct dermal 
transfer) exposure pathways. Consumer products containing PFAS also 
contribute to aggregate exposures through releases to the environment 
from manufacturing and processing of PFAS and formulation and disposal 
of consumer products containing PFAS (e.g., ingestion of drinking 
water).
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    \1\ PFAS are persistent in the environment and can bioaccumulate 
in organisms. There is variability in the persistence of different 
PFAS in various environmental media and biological matrices.
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    Currently in the United States, local jurisdictions, states, and 
other federal agencies, including the EPA, U.S. Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA), and U.S. Department of Agriculture are studying 
PFAS occurrences, human exposures, and health effects that are largely 
associated with environmental exposures (e.g., contaminated drinking 
water, food chain). In March 2023, the White House Office of Science 
and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a PFAS Report informed by a 
Request for Information and developed in collaboration with many 
federal agencies.\2\ That report provides a comprehensive and recent 
summary of known data and research gaps in four areas: removal, 
destruction, or degradation of PFAS, safer alternatives, source and 
pathways of exposure, and toxicity. This request for information by 
CPSC is solely focused on potential use or presence of PFAS in consumer 
products, potential human exposures associated with consumer product 
use, and potential adverse human health effects associated with 
consumer product use.
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    \2\ The report (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) 
Report [bond] A Report by the Joint Subcommittee on Environment, 
Innovation, and Public Health) is available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/OSTP-March-2023-PFAS-Report.pdf.
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    CPSC contracted with RTI International (Contract No. GS-00F-354CA, 
Order No. 61320622F0078) to complete an overview of PFAS with a focus 
on PFAS that are potentially used or present in consumer products. The 
main objectives of the contract were to (1) broadly characterize PFAS 
and identify the uses and applications of PFAS in consumer products, 
identify significant individual PFAS with known or potential consumer 
product applications, and identify trends associated with production 
and use of PFAS in consumer products; (2) identify international, 
federal, state, and local regulations or restrictions for individual or 
grouped PFAS; and (3) summarize recent hazard (toxicity), exposure, or 
risk assessments that have been completed by authoritative bodies.
    The completed RTI report,\3\ CPSC staff's statement on the 
report,\4\ and the accompanying appendices and database files \5\ 
provide this information, describe some data gaps, limitations, and 
uncertainties, and identify possible next steps.
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    \3\ The report (Characterizing PFAS Chemistries, Sources, Uses, 
and Regulatory Trends in U.S. and International Markets) is 
available in the docket and at https://www.cpsc.gov/content/CPSC-PFAS-WhitePaper.
    \4\ The statement (CPSC Staff Statement on: Characterizing PFAS 
Chemistries, Sources, Uses, and Regulatory Trends in the U.S. and 
International Markets) is available in the docket and at https://www.cpsc.gov/content/PFAS-Market-Use-Cover-Memo.
    \5\ The file names and descriptions of appendices and databases 
contained in supporting files are described in CPSC Staff's 
Statement. Appendices and supporting files are available in the 
docket and at https://www.cpsc.gov/Research--Statistics/Chemicals.
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    The completed contractor report and associated materials are 
available at: https://www.regulations.gov under docket number CPSC-
2023-0033, on the Commission's website at https://www.cpsc.gov/Research--Statistics/Chemicals under the heading ``Per- and 
Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS''), and from the CPSC's Office of the 
Secretary at the location listed in the ADDRESSES section of this 
notice.
    This request for information (RFI) seeks input from the public on 
PFAS and potential uses or presence of PFAS in consumer products, 
potential human exposures associated with consumer product use, and 
potential adverse human health effects associated with consumer product 
use. This RFI does not constitute or propose regulatory action, but 
rather is intended to inform the Commission and the public.

II. Information Requested

    CPSC is requesting information from all stakeholders such as 
consumers, manufacturers and importers, government agencies, non-
governmental organizations, and researchers. Please provide information 
focused on consumer products and with consideration for the information 
already available to CPSC in the contract report and associated 
supporting files. The contractor report is not a risk assessment and 
did not identify all potential data sources that could be used for risk 
assessment.
    CPSC is particularly requesting information on PFAS and potential 
use or presence of PFAS in consumer products, potential human exposures 
to

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PFAS associated with consumer product use including information about 
potentially highly exposed population groups, and potential adverse 
human health effects informed by toxicological data sources. The 
Commission seeks comment on all significant aspects of this issue, 
including but not limited to the following questions.

Use or Potential Use of PFAS in Consumer Products

    1. Please provide information about the definition of PFAS, 
including which chemical substances should be considered a 
perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance, which chemical substances 
should be excluded from consideration as a PFAS, and which PFAS are 
considered in commerce.
    2. Please identify specific PFAS potentially used or present in 
consumer products that are not already included in the contract report 
and related supporting files. For each PFAS chemical identified, 
specify relevant consumer product(s) and/or use categories.
    3. Please provide information about which specific PFAS the CPSC 
should prioritize in assessments of potential uses or presence of PFAS 
in consumer products.
    4. Please provide information about which specific consumer 
products CPSC should prioritize in assessments of potential uses or 
presence of PFAS.
    5. Please provide information about consumer products or materials 
used in consumer products that may be sources of PFAS.
    5a. For intentional uses of PFAS, please provide information on: 
Chemical identity and physical form (solid, liquid, gas, semi-solid); 
Functional purpose of the PFAS; and measurements or estimates of 
levels/concentration of PFAS used in consumer products.
    5b. Where PFAS may be present in consumer products other than for 
intentional, functional uses (such as manufacturing or environmental 
contaminants), please provide information on sources of contaminants; 
chemical identity and physical form; degradation of substances or 
materials in consumer products to PFAS; and measurements or estimates 
of levels/concentration of PFAS in consumer products other than from 
intentional uses.

Potential Human Exposures to PFAS Associated With Consumer Products 
Use, Including Information About Potentially Highly Exposed Population 
Groups

    6. Please provide information related to the emission of PFAS from 
consumer products into the indoor environment. For example, studies or 
data that estimate emission rates or mass transfer parameters of PFAS 
chemicals from consumer products or materials.
    7. Please provide information related to the migration of PFAS from 
consumer products into saliva, gastrointestinal fluid, or skin. For 
example, studies or data that estimate migration rates into biological 
fluids or surfaces based on sustained contact time.
    8. Please provide information about the potential for exposure and 
risk from presence of PFAS in consumer products (including contact 
exposures from direct use of consumer products and mediated exposures 
such as through emission of PFAS from products to surfaces, indoor 
dust, or indoor air). Please provide:
    8a. Data related to specific exposure pathways from consumer 
product sources and associated data or estimates of occurrence of PFAS 
in environmental media;
    8b. Data on measurements or estimates of PFAS intake, uptake, 
clearance, half-life, or occurrence in people (biomonitoring); and
    8c. Data on the relative source contribution of consumer product(s) 
or ingestion of indoor dust, or inhalation of indoor air compared with 
other relevant sources such as ingestion of drinking water or ingestion 
of food associated with estimates of aggregate exposures.
    9. Please provide information about population groups that may use 
certain consumer products for a greater than average magnitude, 
frequency, or duration based on habits, practices, and characteristics 
specific to that population group.

Potential Adverse Human Health Effects Informed by Toxicological Data

    10. Please provide reports and underlying data for data sources 
that could inform whether individual PFAS or subclasses or categories 
of PFAS have potential for adverse human health effects. This includes 
human or animal studies that report the relationship between known 
exposures and observed effects. This also includes new approach 
methodology studies such as in-vitro assays or in-silico predictions 
that report the relationship between known exposures and observed 
biological activities related to health effects.
    11. Please provide information on additional sources of data and 
other information that CPSC should consider that are not already 
included or mentioned in the contract report and associated data files.
    If you wish to submit confidential information in response to this 
RFI, please follow the instructions in the ADDRESSES section above.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2023-20332 Filed 9-19-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P