PFAS and Emerging Contaminants

Whether it relates to the manufacture or use of PFAS or PFAS-containing products, the potential impacts of PFAS chemicals on the environment or public health, compliance strategies for new and looming regulatory programs addressing PFAS, or related supply chain concerns, our team is well positioned to help clients navigate these challenges. Our attorneys and advisors work with clients across the manufacturing, retail, chemical, pharmaceutical, medical device, utility, and transportation industries to assess and mitigate PFAS risks and liabilities. When litigation does arise, our team has successfully represented clients in a myriad of PFAS-related matters, including complex environmental contamination and (mass and class) personal injury matters, consumer class actions, and consumer protection false advertising suits. Our team has an unparalleled understanding of the underlying chemistry associated with PFAS and the human and animal studies that have been conducted on PFAS, and prides itself on making complex scientific issues relatable to juries.

Beyond the courtroom, Venable has been at the forefront of PFAS policy and regulatory issues, working on a day-to-day basis with Capitol Hill, the White House, EPA and other federal agencies, leading trade associations, and other key stakeholders to prevent adverse legislation and regulation of certain fluoropolymers—as distinct from other PFAS—that play a vital role in an array of consumer, safety, and critical care products. Our team includes some of the first federally registered lobbyists to engage on the PFAS issue, and Venable clients depend on our advocacy to influence national and state PFAS regulations and to support related communication, compliance, and risk mitigation strategies.

Our clients also routinely rely on Venable to help them understand and assess the impact that new PFAS-related state and federal laws have on their business, including compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) reporting requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), new drinking water standards, and the designation of PFOA and PFOS as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or “Superfund”).