[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 74 (Tuesday, April 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26887-26888]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07927]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

[Notice-MVAC 2024-01; Docket No. 2024-0002; Sequence No 16]


Notice of Inquiry Regarding PFAS in Products

AGENCY: Office of Acquisition Policy, General Services Administration.

ACTION: Notice; request for information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: As part of its on-going commitment to advancing sustainable 
acquisition, the General Services Administration (GSA) is exploring 
opportunities to reduce or eliminate potential per-and polyfluoroalkyl 
substances (PFAS) chemicals with the intent to reduce exposure from 
products offered to the Government through GSA's contract solutions. 
GSA is publishing this notice to request comments to help us understand 
potential areas for focus, and to identify potential unintended 
negative impacts. At this time, GSA has not determined whether or not 
it should work towards a notice of proposed rule-making to address this 
topic.

DATES: Interested parties should submit written comments to the 
Regulatory Secretariat as noted below on or before June 17, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments in response to this inquiry to: 
Regulations.gov: https://www.regulations.gov. Submit comments via the 
Federal eRulemaking portal by searching for ``GSA PFAS Inquiry''. 
Follow the instructions provided at the ``Comment Now'' screen. Please 
include your name, company name (if any), and ``GSA PFAS Inquiry'' on 
your attached document.
    Instructions: Comments received generally will be posted without 
change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal and/or 
business confidential information provided. To confirm receipt of your 
comment(s), please check https://www.regulations.gov, approximately two 
to three days after submission to verify posting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact 
Ms. Adina Torberntsson, Procurement Analyst, at [email protected] or 
720-475-0568. For information pertaining to status or publication 
schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat at [email protected] or 
202-501-4755. Please cite GSA PFAS Inquiry.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, are a widely 
used class of chemicals which break down very slowly over time. Since 
PFAS chemicals are slow to break down, and have been used in several 
manufacturing processes, they are ubiquitously found throughout the 
environment. PFAS has been detected in air, water, soil, and even human 
blood. Several studies have linked PFAS to health risks and 
environmental risks.\1\ To help reduce the risk of further exposure to 
these chemicals, the Government can work towards reducing PFAS 
containing products through procurement.
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    \1\ See EPA website on PFAS https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-explained.
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    The GSA Acquisition Policy Federal Advisory Committee (GAP FAC) was 
established to provide recommendations specific to GSA to drive 
regulatory, policy, and process changes in acquisition. The GAP FAC 
recommended that GSA should move forward with reducing PFAS through 
government procurement and that GSA should consider product categories 
that have already been identified by other state and federal programs, 
specifically: furniture, carpets, rugs, curtains, cookware, food 
service ware, food packaging materials, cutlery, dishware, paints, 
cleaning products, stain and water resistant treatments, flooring, and 
floor care products (``Recommended Categories'').
    While much has been learned by connecting with government experts 
and the GSA GAP FAC, GSA would like to similarly learn from industry 
partners.

II. Purpose

    In 2021, Executive Order 14057 \2\ outlined an approach to 
catalyzing clean energy industries and jobs through federal 
sustainability. The implementing instructions (OMB Memo M-22-06 \3\) 
directed federal purchasers to prioritize the procurement of products 
that do not contain PFAS. This inquiry is an important step towards 
implementing these instructions by learning more on how to successfully 
reduce or eliminate potential PFAS exposure through products procured 
by the Government. GSA has been engaged in a PFAS and product working 
group to better understand where PFAS is found in the marketplace.
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    \2\ E.O. 14057 Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs 
Through Federal Sustainability.
    \3\ OMB Memo M-22-06.
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    GSA invites comment on the issues discussed in this notice to help 
inform future rulemaking on how to best reduce

[[Page 26888]]

federal procurement of products that either intentionally or 
unintentionally contain PFAS while minimizing any unnecessary burdens 
on our industry and logistics partners.

III. Request for Operational Information

    GSA seeks responses to the questions listed below. Please explain 
the reasoning behind your responses in detail. Also, please provide any 
data, studies, or other evidence that supports your response.
    In your response please include your contact information, your 
business socio-economic category if applicable, and a little bit about 
your business (such as if you represent a manufacturer, distributor, 
reseller, or other).
    To help GSA review comments efficiently, identify the question to 
which you are responding by its associated number and letter (e.g., 
``III.3a'') or whether you are commenting on a topic not listed below.
    1. Aside from a product's ecolabel, are there other ways to 
identify if a product contains PFAS?
    2. Considering GSA's goal to reduce products containing PFAS, what 
product categories have the greatest opportunity for GSA to reduce or 
eliminate PFAS exposure?
    3. What should GSA consider in terms of defining if a product has 
reduced or eliminated PFAS?
    4. What product areas should GSA exclude at this time and why?
    5. Are there unintended impacts GSA should anticipate?
    a. If so, what mitigation strategies should GSA consider?
    6. What is the potential impact on domestic manufacturing if GSA 
establishes PFAS reduction requirements that reduce or prohibit PFAS, 
or eliminate them entirely?
    7. What limitations exist for you to identify PFAS in the products 
that you offer?
    8. Would your answers to questions #6 and #7 be different if only 
intentionally added PFAS (or when a PFAS containing chemical is 
included in a product that serves an intended function in the product) 
was the focus of this inquiry?
    9. What is the potential impact on small businesses including 
socio-economic small businesses if GSA establishes PFAS reduction 
requirements or prohibited PFAS entirely?
    10. How long should GSA give contractors to reduce PFAS?
    11. What type of exception process should GSA consider?
    12. What information is readily available for you to determine if 
your products contain PFAS chemicals?
    a. If there is not information readily available, what type of 
tools would help you determine if PFAS is present (e.g., supply chain 
mapping, specific ecolabels, etc.)
    13. Would it be more impactful for GSA to target a specific product 
type or chemical signature in products to meet the goal of reducing or 
eliminating PFAS?
    14. Are there existing industry manufacturing standards or 
oversight that address PFAS reduction or elimination?

IV. Request for Economic Data and Consumer Research

    Aside from the questions listed above, GSA also seeks to better 
understand the bigger picture regarding what industry changes are in 
fact feasible from an economic perspective. GSA seeks economic data and 
consumer research to help increase its understanding of the market. In 
your response please consider some of the questions highlighted below. 
You do not have to answer all of these in your response. The intent of 
the following are simply things to consider.
    1. What will the estimated costs be to either reduce or eliminate 
PFAS within your industry?
    2. Is there a large price differential between a product that 
contains PFAS and an alternative product?
    3. How would a reduction or elimination of PFAS containing products 
impact your company's ability to compete?
    4. To what extent is your industry already moving to better 
understand and reduce the presence of PFAS in products as a result of 
broader market forces or policies being considered or enacted by 
entities other than the federal government?

Jeffrey A. Koses,
Senior Procurement Executive, Office of Governmentwide Policy, U.S. 
General Services Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024-07927 Filed 4-15-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-61-P