- water
- contaminants
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a class of thousands of synthetic compounds built around highly stable carbon–fluorine bonds. That stability is why they are called forever chemicals: they resist breakdown, accumulate in water and tissue, and are mobile in groundwater. EPA has set enforceable drinking-water limits for several PFAS and is phasing them into discharge monitoring and cleanup programs.
PFAS cut across several threads of this record. They appear as a drinking-water and NPDES concern where a discharge or biosolids land application is a pathway; as a CERCLA liability now that two PFAS (PFOA and PFOS) were designated hazardous substances as of EPA's 2024 final rule; and as reported releases in EPA's TRI. Because the regulatory picture is still moving, the platform tags a specific PFAS finding to its dated source — a [verified] limit or a [reference] sampling result — rather than to a general expectation.