H.R. 6626 — PFAS Accountability Act of 2025

This section lists five congressional findings concerning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including (1) detection of PFAS in the blood serum of U.S. individuals from human manufacturing and use; (2) detection of PFAS in drinking water of at least 200 million U.S. individuals; (3) annual introduction of new PFAS with limited safety research; (4) lack of a federal statutory cause of action for PFAS-related harms prior to enactment; and (5) links between low-level PFAS exposure and chronic diseases such as cancer, reproductive and developmental harms, and immune system harms.

This section declares the purposes of the Act, which are (1) to encourage PFAS research and provide accountability for irresponsible PFAS manufacturing and use by codifying a federal cause of action and medical monitoring remedy for individuals significantly exposed to PFAS; (2) to address harm from such exposure by codifying it as an injury in law and equity and shifting medical monitoring costs to responsible parties; and (3) to incentivize industry funding for PFAS safety research.

This section establishes a federal cause of action under the Toxic Substances Control Act for individuals significantly exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—defined as a perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance with at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom—against persons engaged in PFAS manufacturing processes (including telomer, fluorosurfactant, or toll manufacturing) who foresaw or should have foreseen human exposure, allowing claims for legal and equitable relief in U.S. district court, individually or as a class. It authorizes courts to award medical monitoring to exposed individuals or classes who demonstrate an increased risk of PFAS-associated disease, a need for additional diagnostic exams, and the effectiveness of such exams, with a rebuttable presumption of significant exposure established by evidence of manufacturing and release into exposure areas for a cumulative period of not less than one year or by testing showing PFAS or metabolites in the body (or, for classes, in a representative portion); defendants may rebut via independent testing at their cost. If toxicological data is insufficient to prove increased disease risk, courts may lower the scientific proof standard and order epidemiological, toxicological, or other studies as part of a remedy; it expresses a sense of Congress encouraging independent PFAS health effects research; and it specifies no preemption of state law claims or remedies.