NASF To Host Virtual Forum Reviewing EPA's Evaluation of PFAS

The National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF) will host a webinar July 28, 2020, with a PFAS Regulatory Outlook and Update: “EPA and States’ Review of Finishing Rules and NASF Initiatives.” The webinar, scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, will feature Rob Wood of the EPA’s Office of Water and Dr. Janet Anderson of GSI Environmental, moderated by Jeff Hannapel and Christian Richter of NASF D.C. 

Registration for the webinar can be found here. 

The “virtual Washington Forum session” will discuss the EPA’s current review of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) compounds and whether the surface finishing industry may require specific new effluent guidelines and pretreatment standards for PFAS under the Clean Water Act. The Office of Water is evaluating the need to address PFAS compounds as part of the effluent guidelines program, which governs industry categories of wastewater discharges. Topics listed for discussion include: 

• The status of the EPA’s PFAS evaluation and its potential data and information needs
• Possible outcomes of the PFAS evaluation and potential impacts on industrial dischargers and publicly owned treatment works (POTWs)
• Recent technical developments for sampling and analyzing PFAS and categorizing PFAS compounds
• Evolving federal and state initiatives to address PFAS concerns
• Efforts to identify PFAS sources and measures to reduce PFAS discharges
• Industry efforts to implement best management practices for addressing PFAS issues

As director of the EPA Office of Water’s Engineering and Analysis division, Wood oversees standards development and policy matters for the Clean Water Act’s effluent guidelines and pretreatment program. 

Dr. Anderson is a principal with GSI Environmental Inc., with 15 years of experience providing toxicology, risk assessment and risk management support to federal agencies and private industrial clients. She specializes in communicating findings from toxicology studies in order to inform regulatory policy and public health debates.