Document j2yoq8d4ZXXNkeaDdmZN6D0Q

Aft z z - 1077 UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460 OFFICE OF PREVENTION, PESTICIDES AND TOXIC SUBSTANCES er:: MEMORANDUM SUBJECT: Draft Hazard Assessment O fPerfluorooctanoic Acid And Its Salts FROM: TO: Charles M. Auer, Director Chemical Control Division ( CO Administrative Record File AR226: PFOS, PFOA, Telomers, and Related Chemicals DATE: March 25, 2002 Attached for inclusion in the PFOA section of the public Administrative Record file AR226 is a copy in PDF file format of the Draft Hazard Assessment O fPerfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) And Its Salts, prepared by the Risk Assessment Division of the EPA Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. Attached as a separate file because of its size is the Annex to the assessment, which contains robust summaries of the studies reviewed in the assessment. This preliminary assessment reviews the studies that were available as of July 2001, but does not incorporate any information received by the Agency after that date. The cut-off date was adopted to allow the release of this preliminary assessment while additional studies were still underway. The assessment specifically recognizes that additional data, particularly including the final report on a two-generation reproductive study in rats, are still under development. As the Agency receives further study information, it will be included in AR226 and in the Agency's review process. Based on the existing data, PFOA may present some concerns similar to those raised by perfluorooctyl sulfonates (PFOS). Like PFOS, it is persistent in the environment and does not appear to degrade. PFOA also appears to have a half-life in humans of between 1 and 3.5 years, indicating that it may bioaccumulate in humans in the same manner as PFOS does, remaining in enterohepatic circulation. PFOA has been found in human blood samples, although at levels lower than PFOS. PFOA is carcinogenic in animals. Reproductive study data on PFOA comparable to the studies that raised the initial concerns on PFOS are not yet available, although the final report on the two-generation reproductive study in rats should be completed in the first half of 2002 and will be included in AR226 as soon as it is submitted to the Agency. The Agency will continue to review data on PFOA as they are received. I CONTAIN NO CW Internet Address (URL) http://www.epa.gov Recycled/Recyclable Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on Recycled Paper (Minimum 50% Postconsumer content) See AR226-1079 to review the attachment