Home / PFAS Matrices / Articles of Commerce
Articles of commerce are any material that is bought, sold, or exchanged. This includes consumer goods such as clothing, cosmetics, or food as well as the containers in which these items are sold or stored. On the industrial side, articles of commerce might be finished goods, containers for finished goods or components, and the materials used during production, e.g., an industrial lubricant.
PFAS are synthetic compounds, and as harmful PFAS are voluntarily discontinued, new ones may be developed to take their place. After all, consumers continue to demand products that are stickproof, durable, and stain-, grease-, and weather-resistant. The EPA plans to limit the introduction of new, potentially harmful PFAS into commerce by applying a rigorous premanufacture review process under the TSCA New Chemicals program.
In 2021, several states introduced legislation banning the sale of products in which PFAS had been intentionally added, most notably food packaging and cosmetics. Some included an outright ban on all PFAS, while others focused in on the most toxic compounds, like PFOA and PFOS. Many of the laws proposed also have more restrictive clauses that will kick in once a suitable replacement compound can be identified.
When articles of commerce are disposed of, they typically wind up in a municipal or industrial landfill where they can contaminate the leachate sent to the local wastewater treatment plant. Liquid waste products dumped down a drain or allowed to run off into storm drains take a more direct route to wastewater treatment. Either path is problematic because traditional wastewater treatment does not remove PFAS and can convert PFAS precursors into terminal PFAS.
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