Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and many others. PFAS have been manufactured and used by industries worldwide since the 1940s. PFAS can be found in food, commercial household products, workplace (e.g., electronics manufacturing), firefighting foams, drinking water (localized and associated with a specific nearby operation/facility) and living organisms (e.g., fish). Currently, there are no federal air quality regulations in place or proposed for these compounds. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) PFAS Action Plan, updated in February 2020, focuses mostly on drinking water exposure and additional research. However, the EPA has been providing states with assistance to better characterize and understand the environmental impacts of PFAS emitted to the air in order to develop sampling and measurement methods for PFAS in air, assess effectiveness of PFAS disposal methods, and understand the efficacy of emission control technology. Due to the lack of regulatory action at the federal level, many states have taken action to control PFAS air emissions and to require companies to estimate PFAS air impacts. This paper will provide a summary of actions that several state agencies have taken to address the releases of PFAS into the air.
