EPA Requests Public Comments on Draft IRIS Toxicological Review for PFHxS

On July 24, EPA announced the availability of the Agency’s Draft IRIS Toxicological Review of Perfluorohexane Sulfonate (PFHxS) and its related salts for review and public comment. The Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program within EPA’s Office of Research and Development develops “impartial toxicity information independent of its use by EPA’s program and regional offices to set national standards and clean up hazardous sites.” The Executive Summary of the draft IRIS assessment states that “the available evidence indicates that PFHxS exposure is likely to cause thyroid and developmental immune effects in humans, given sufficient exposure conditions.” All other health effects that the assessment reviewed either had insufficient or inadequate evidence to assess whether PFHxS exposure may be a cause.

The Agency is releasing this draft IRIS assessment for public comment ahead of an independent external scientific peer review. After this comment period, EPA’s contractor ERG will convene a public meeting of the peer reviewers to discuss the draft report. The external peer reviewers will consider public comments submitted in response to this notice, as well as any public comments provided during the public meeting during the group’s assessment. The notice states that the Agency will consider all comments received when revising the assessment post-peer review. The deadline for public comments on the draft IRIS review is September 22.