(26/P32) TRENTON – Affirming the Sherrill Administration’s commitment to protecting public health and the environment from PFAS contamination, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection today formally adopted regulations that set site remediation standards for four PFAS compounds – PFNA, PFOA, PFOS, and GenX. The adoption formalizes interim standards that have been in place since 2022 and 2023. 

These chemicals have been used in a wide variety of industrial and commercial applications and are known to have serious health effects, which, depending on the specific PFAS compound, can include decreased birth weight, decreased immune response, increased serum cholesterol, increased serum levels of liver enzymes indicative of liver damage, and increased cancer risk.  

“With the formal adoption of these site remediation standards, the Sherrill Administration is delivering on its mission to protect public health, provide clean drinking water to the public, and restore the environment from decades of PFAS pollution across the state,” Department of Environmental Protection Acting Commissioner Ed Potosnak said. “Even as we see wavering at the federal level, New Jersey remains firm in its commitment to strong science, policies and regulations to address the legacy of PFAS pollution.” 

The Problem With PFAS 

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a large family of thousands of manmade chemicals that have been used in industrial and commercial applications for over 70 years. PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” repel water and oil and are resistant to heat and chemical reactions. 

Products that may be manufactured with PFAS include stain-resistant coatings for upholstery and carpets, water-resistant breathable clothing, greaseproof food packaging, and certain firefighting foams (aqueous film-forming foams used for extinguishing petroleum-based fires). 

PFAS enter the environment through air emissions and wastewater from industrial facilities where they are made or used, releases that occur during firefighting training or use in response to a petroleum-based fire event, sludge and effluent from wastewater treatment plants, and contaminated liquid from landfills (leachate) where PFAS containing industrial waste or consumer products are disposed. 

As described in the DEP’s multifaceted PFAS Forever No More Strategy, New Jersey has been at the forefront of evaluating and responding to PFAS contamination through strong science and legal actions against polluters. 

New Jersey was the first state to set an enforceable PFAS drinking water standard, adopting a maximum contaminant level for PFNA in 2018 and adding limits for PFOA and PFOS in 2020. DEP has also added PFAS to the list of hazardous substances under its regulations authorized by the Spill Compensation and Control Act. In October 2022 and June 2023, the DEP set health-based interim standards for three exposure pathways from the PFAS chemicals included in today’s formal rulemaking. Today’s rule adoption establishes those standards as final regulations. 

Rule Adoption in Detail 

The adopted rule requires those responsible for conducting remediation in New Jersey to ensure that these contaminants are cleaned up to prevent future impacts to public health and the environment, including potential impacts to drinking water. 

In addition, the Department is amending the Technical Requirements for Site Remediation to add PFNA, PFOS, PFOA, GenX chemicals, and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin to require analyses for these chemicals when contaminants are unknown or not well documented at a contaminated site.  

These chemicals were included because they have been widely used or are prevalent in the state. The development of these standards helps the Department in holding polluters accountable, protecting public health, improving our drinking water, and protecting our natural resources. 

DEP is responsible for ensuring the investigation and remediation of contaminated sites across New Jersey. To that end, DEP develops soil remediation standards for different types of potential exposure scenarios pursuant to the DEP’s remediation standards.  

This includes ingestion-dermal soil remediation standards which account for exposure from incidental ingestion of contaminated soil and dust and dermal contact with soil, inhalation soil remediation standards which account for exposure to particulates or vapors emanating from contaminated soils, and soil and soil leachate remediation standards which account for the migration of contaminations from soil to ground water to protect the underlying ground water.  

These standards are developed in consideration of the most recent toxicological information to ensure adequate protection of human health along with analytical capability (the level at which individual contaminants can be reliably detected and reported). For detailed guidance visit: https://dep.nj.gov/srp/guidance/rs/ 

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is dedicated to protecting New Jersey’s environment and public health. The agency prioritizes addressing climate change, protecting New Jersey’s water, revitalizing its communities and managing and promoting its natural and historic resources.

For the most recent information, follow the DEP on X @NewJerseyDEP, Facebook @newjerseydep, Instagram @nj.dep, LinkedIn @newjerseydep, and Bluesky @dep.nj.gov, or visit www.nj.gov/dep.