[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