Department of Ecology
September 2022
Executive Summary
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of more than 9,000 synthetic organic chemicals. PFAS can withstand high temperatures and survive highly corrosive environments. They are used in the manufacture of coatings, surface treatments, and specialty chemicals in cookware, carpets, food packaging, clothing, cosmetics, and other common consumer products. PFAS also have many industrial applications and are an active ingredient in certain types of fire- fighting foams (aqueous film-forming foams, or AFFF). PFAS coatings resist oil, grease, and water.
A Chemical Action Plan (CAP) identifies, characterizes, and evaluates uses and releases of a specific Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxin (PBT), a group of PBTs, or metals of concern, and recommends actions to protect human health or the environment.
The Departments of Ecology (Ecology) and Health (Health) (jointly “we”) developed this PFAS CAP to recommend actions to address PFAS in the environment and resulting human impacts. This CAP builds on work that started in 2016, when we convened an advisory committee to inform and guide our PFAS CAP development work. In April of 2018, we issued an Interim CAP for PFAS (Interim CAP), recommending actions to address problems with PFAS. The Interim CAP was updated in January 2019. Following additional input by the Advisory Committee, we issued Preliminary CAP Recommendations (Preliminary Recommendations) in May 2019. These recommendations also took into account the Washington State Legislature’s 2018 adoption of laws that impact PFAS use in firefighting foam and food packaging in the state.
A Draft CAP, informed by Advisory Committee input received in July 2019 and updated based on new information available about PFAS between May 2019 and early 2020, was issued for public comment in October 2020.