Updates to MassDEP TURA Reporting – PFAS

Environmental Consulting

June 9, 2023

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Companies that have at least ten full-time employees, have a specific industrial code and use chemicals that exceed the Toxic Use Reduction Act (TURA) thresholds are required to file a TURA report for reporting year (RY) 2022 by July 1, 2023. The reports are filed through the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s (MassDEP’s) online portal, eDEP. There is an Annual Toxics Use Fee that is based on the number of employees and the number of toxic chemicals used. Companies that fail to report within 30 days of the submittal deadline or fail to pay the fee within 30 days of the fee deadline are subject to a statutory late fee of $1,000. Facilities subject to TURA also must create and update a TUR Plan every two years.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

RY2021

In 2020, 172 PFAS were added to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) and therefore, were also added to the TURA list, effective January 1, 2021. The RY2021 reports were required to include these PFAS. Each of these PFAS must be reported individually. The reporting threshold for this list of PFAS is 100 pounds. The TRI list has since been expanded by seventeen chemicals. The full list of TRI chemicals can be found on EPA’s website.

RY2022

Certain Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Not Otherwise Listed (Certain PFAS NOL) are now reportable for TURA for RY2022. The Certain PFAS NOL category is defined as those PFAS that contain:

a perfluoroalkyl moiety with three or more carbons (e.g., –CnF2n– , n ≥ 3; or CF3–CnF2n– , n ≥ 2)
a perfluoroalkylether moiety with two or more carbons (e.g., –CnF2nOCmF2m− or –CnF2nOCmFm–, n and m ≥ 1)

wherein for the example structures shown, the dash (–) is not a bond to a hydrogen and may represent a straight or branched structure, and that are not otherwise listed.

These chemicals are reported under a chemical category, therefore, companies that use more than one chemical under this category will report the total amount used and pay a single per-chemical fee for this category, unless they are individually listed under TURA. This category uses the standard reporting thresholds of 25,000 pounds manufactured or processed or 10,000 pounds otherwise used.

RY2023

For RY2023, the TURA Administrative Council has added 8 new Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) to the list of individual PFAS that facilities must track for RY 2023. These are eight of the seventeen chemicals that were added to the TRI PFAS list. Until RY2023, these PFAS should be reported under the PFAS NOL category. The remaining nine PFAS chemicals that were added to TRI are being reviewed by the TURA Administrative Council and should also be reported under the PFAS NOL category.

Summary

A summary of the PFAS reporting requirements is shown below.

PFAS reporting requirements

	172 TRI/TURA PFAS	Certain PFAS NOL	Additional 8 PFAS
Tracking start date	January 1, 2021	January 1, 2022	January 1, 2023
Report to MassDEP	July 1, 2022	July 1, 2023	July 1, 2024
Reportable	Individually	As a category	Individually
Threshold	100 pounds (de minimis exemption applies; 1% for most PFAS and 0.1% for PFOA as a carcinogen)	25,000 pounds manufactured or processed; 10,000 pounds otherwise used	100 pounds (de minimis exemption applies; 1% for most PFAS and 0.1% for PFOA as a carinogen)

Note that the following PFAS were individually reportable under TURA prior to RY2021 and are reported at the standard Manufactured, processed or otherwise used (MPOU) thresholds:

76-14-2 1 2-Dichloro-1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethane

76-15-3 Chloropentafluoroethane

116-14-3 Tetrafluoroethylene

124-73-2 1,2-Dibromotetrafluoroethane

354-25-6 1-chloro-1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethane

422-56-0 3,3-Dichloro-1,1,1,2,2-pentafluoropropane

507-55-1 1,3-Dichloro-1,1,2,2,3-pentafluoropropane

2837-89-0 2-Chloro-1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane

For detailed instructions on PFAS reporting, see MassDEP’s guidance document.

Most of the time it can be difficult to identify PFAS chemicals solely from the Safety Data Sheets (SDSs). They often appear on SDSs without CAS numbers or a full chemical name. For example, it may simply say “fluoropolymer” or other generic language. MassDEP has created a PFAS supplier notification letter template for companies to send to suppliers in order to determine if PFAS are contained in any of their raw materials. If the chemical structure is not available, the chemical should be assumed to be reportable under PFAS NOL (for fluorinated substances). Normal article exemptions apply. Teflon articles, such as Teflon tape, would likely meet the article exemption. But items that are processed, such as Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) pellets used in extrusion processes, would be reportable.

PFAS are commonly found in the following:
Cleaning products
Paints, varnishes, sealants, surfactants, degreasers
Water-resistant fabrics
Grease-resistant paper like fast food containers and wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes and candy wrappers
Non-stick cookware
Personal care products, like shampoo, dental floss, nail polish and eye makeup
Stain-resistant coatings used on carpets, upholstery and other fabrics
Fire-fighting foam

If you would like to discuss these new Massachusetts PFAS reporting requirements and how they may impact your facility, please contact Trinity’s Boston office or call 508.273.8600.

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