PFAS
The TRI chemical list for reporting year 2022 includes 180 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Each year, the TRI Program reviews newly available information and adds PFAS to the TRI chemical list if they meet certain criteria.
Facilities reported their releases and other waste management practices for these PFAS for the first time for 2020. Additional PFAS have been added to the list for each subsequent reporting year. The TRI reporting threshold for PFAS is 100 pounds, which is lower than the thresholds for most TRI chemicals. PFAS were also recently designated as chemicals of special concern, which changes certain reporting requirements beginning in 2024. Read more about the rule.
Note that definitions of which chemicals are considered PFAS vary, and that the PFAS on the TRI chemical list do not include all known per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. See EPA’s PFAS Explained page for more information about these chemicals and EPA actions related to PFAS.
This map shows the locations of the facilities that reported a PFAS to TRI for 2022, sized by their relative release quantities. Zoom in to view demographic data for communities around these facilities. Click on a facility for more details on its reporting.
Click on any one of the locations on the map to see detailed information.
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This chart shows the number of facilities in each sector reporting any of the 180 PFAS for 2022.
- Most facilities reporting PFAS were in the chemical manufacturing sector or the hazardous waste management sector.
- Facilities have reported 63 different PFAS since 2020. The most-reported PFAS from 2020-2022 were perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA).
PFAS Waste Management
This chart shows how facilities managed PFAS waste. For more details on quantities released, toggle to the “Releases only” figure.
* Note: The light-colored areas in this chart show waste of PFAS that were not reportable for 2020.
- The quantity of PFAS reported as managed as waste increased by 354,000 pounds from 2020 to 2022.
- The year-to-year changes in PFAS waste management have been driven primarily by one chemical manufacturing facility.
- Each year, combined quantities of hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) and its ammonium salt accounted for more waste managed than any other PFAS.
- The chemical manufacturing and hazardous waste management sectors have reported managing the most PFAS waste each year.
This chart shows PFAS releases by environmental medium.
* Note: The light-colored areas in this chart show releases of PFAS that were not reportable for 2020.
- Releases of PFAS were almost eight times greater in 2022 compared to 2020.
- Releases of PFAS newly added to the TRI chemical list for 2021 or 2022 accounted for only a small portion of the increase.
- The increase in PFAS releases was mainly driven by the hazardous waste management sector.
- The hazardous waste management sector reported 98% of all PFAS releases for 2022.
This page was published in March 2024 and uses the 2022 TRI National Analysis dataset made public in TRI Explorer in October 2023.