PFAS Act of 2019

116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 2353 AN ACT To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man- agement Agency to develop guidance for firefighters and other emergency response personnel on best practices to protect them from exposure to PFAS and to limit and prevent the release of PFAS into the environment, and for other purposes. 2 † S 2353 ES Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Firefighters 4 from Adverse Substances Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘PFAS Act 5 of 2019’’. 6 SEC. 2. GUIDANCE ON HOW TO PREVENT EXPOSURE TO 7 AND RELEASE OF PFAS. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 9 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 10 Federal Emergency Management Agency, in consultation 11 with the Administrator of the United States Fire Adminis- 12 tration, the Administrator of the Environmental Protec- 13 tion Agency, the Director of the National Institute for Oc- 14 cupational Safety and Health, and the heads of any other 15 relevant agencies, shall— 16 (1) develop and publish guidance for firefighters 17 and other emergency response personnel on training, 18 education programs, and best practices to— 19 (A) reduce the exposure to per- and 20 polyfluoroalkyl substances (commonly referred 21 to as ‘‘PFAS’’) from firefighting foam and per- 22 sonal protective equipment; and 23 (B) limit or prevent the release of PFAS 24 from firefighting foam into the environment; 25 3 † S 2353 ES (2) develop and issue guidance to firefighters 1 and other emergency response personnel on alter- 2 native foams, personal protective equipment, and 3 other firefighting tools and equipment that do not 4 contain PFAS; and 5 (3) create an online public repository, which 6 shall be updated on a regular basis, on tools and 7 best practices for firefighters and other emergency 8 response personnel to reduce, limit, and prevent the 9 release of and exposure to PFAS. 10 (b) REQUIRED CONSULTATION.—In developing the 11 guidance required under subsection (a), the Administrator 12 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall con- 13 sult with appropriate interested entities, including— 14 (1) firefighters and other emergency response 15 personnel, including national fire service and emer- 16 gency response organizations; 17 (2) impacted communities dealing with PFAS 18 contamination; 19 (3) scientists, including public and occupational 20 health and safety experts, who are studying PFAS 21 and PFAS alternatives in firefighting foam; 22 (4) voluntary standards organizations engaged 23 in developing standards for firefighter and fire- 24 fighting equipment; 25 4 † S 2353 ES (5) State fire training academies; 1 (6) State fire marshals; 2 (7) manufacturers of firefighting tools and 3 equipment; and 4 (8) any other relevant entities, as determined 5 by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 6 Management Agency and the Administrator of the 7 United States Fire Administration. 8 (c) REVIEW OF GUIDANCE.—Not later than 3 years 9 after the date on which the guidance required under sub- 10 section (a) is issued, and not less frequently than once 11 every 2 years thereafter, the Administrator of the Federal 12 Emergency Management Agency, in consultation with the 13 Administrator of the United States Fire Administration, 14 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agen- 15 cy, and the Director of the National Institute for Occupa- 16 tional Safety and Health, shall review the guidance and, 17 as appropriate, issue updates to the guidance. 18 5 † S 2353 ES (d) APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal Advi- 1 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to 2 this Act. 3 Passed the Senate December 18, 2020. Attest: Secretary. 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 2353 AN ACT To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emer- gency Management Agency to develop guidance for firefighters and other emergency response personnel on best practices to protect them from exposure to PFAS and to limit and prevent the release of PFAS into the environment, and for other purposes.