Clean Harbors, Inc. announced the successful results of a comprehensive third-party study demonstrating that the Company's commercial facilities can safely and thoroughly destroy PFAS (per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances) in multiple forms. Conducted at the Company's RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act)-permitted facility in Utah, the study demonstrated that Clean Harbors' use of high-temperature combustion destroyed greater than 99.9999% of PFAS compounds. This performance level meets the strict chemical destruction standards for many of the most dangerous and difficult to destroy hazardous wastes, such as PCBs and dioxins. PFAS compounds have been manufactured since the 1930s and became a primary ingredient in nonstick and waterproof coatings.

After several decades, development and usage of PFAS greatly expanded with wide-ranging applications including nonstick cookware, stain-resistant carpeting, grease-resistant food packaging, corrosive-resistant pipes and wires, and eventually aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) that became the gold standard for fighting chemical fires for over 50 years. Before scientists and health organizations recognized the potential for adverse impacts on humans and animals, PFAS became ubiquitous around the planet. In fact, today in the United States it is estimated that 97-99% of the population carries some level of PFAS in their bloodstream.

Eventually, the detrimental health effects of certain categories of PFAS became clear and addressing PFAS contaminants in various media has become a major focus of regulatory authorities across the country. While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not yet officially labeled PFAS in its many forms as hazardous, the Agency did work with major manufacturers between 2000-2006 to obtain commitments to phase out the production of two forms of PFAS – PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctyl sulfonate) – due to health concerns. As of 2015, the manufacture of PFOA and PFOS in the U.S. had largely ceased.

In addition, several U.S. states have already begun regulating PFAS in different media, including drinking water, soil, groundwater, and in air emissions. The results of the 2021 testing demonstrated that common legacy and replacement PFAS – including PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS and Gen-X PFAS – are efficiently and effectively destroyed in Clean Harbors' high-temperature thermal destruction units at levels exceeding 99.9999% of destruction. Achieving destruction of greater than 99.9999% is equivalent to demonstrating that for every million mass units of a compound introduced into the incinerator, less than one mass unit is detected at the stack.

Under the testing conditions, not only were the PFAS compounds sufficiently destroyed, but ambient concentrations from stack emissions were orders of magnitude safer than any state or federal ambient air limit guideline in effect.