Though most environmental groups applauded the move, the EPA’s actions “are too little and too late,” said Timothy Whitehouse, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and a former EPA attorney.
The hazardous waste designation addresses only two compounds and leaves thousands unaccounted for, he said, while calling on the EPA to regulate the chemicals as a class because they are so similar in structure. The EPA is also failing to track PFAS-contaminated waste, and could better manage it and protect the public under the Resource Conservation Recovery Act, Whitehouse said.
“While years down the road some communities may benefit from EPA’s action today, it does nothing to stem the tide of future Superfund sites caused by toxic PFAS contamination,” he said.
