S. 3460 — PFAS Accountability Act of 2025

This section states congressional findings on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including (1) their detection by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the blood serum of U.S. individuals from human manufacturing and use; (2) their detection in the drinking water of at least 200 million U.S. individuals; (3) annual introduction of new PFAS with limited safety research; (4) the absence of a federal statutory cause of action for individuals harmed by long-term PFAS exposure; and (5) links between low-level PFAS exposure and chronic diseases such as cancer, reproductive and developmental harms, and immune system harms.

This section states the purposes of the Act to (1) 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) address harm to such individuals by codifying it as an injury in law and equity and shifting medical monitoring costs to responsible parties; and (3) provide incentives for industry to fund PFAS safety research.

This section amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) by inserting new section 25 after section 24 (15 U.S.C. 2623), establishing a federal cause of action for individuals significantly exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—defined as perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances with at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom—against any person engaged in a PFAS manufacturing process (including telomer, fluorosurfactant, or toll manufacturing) who foresaw or reasonably should have foreseen human exposure, with remedies including appropriate legal and equitable relief. The section authorizes courts to award medical monitoring to exposed individuals or classes if exposure creates an increased disease risk justifying additional periodic diagnostic examinations that can detect PFAS-associated diseases. It establishes a rebuttable presumption of significant exposure for individuals demonstrating defendant-created PFAS release into exposure areas for a cumulative period of not less than 1 year, or offering testing showing PFAS or metabolites in their body or blood serum (with parallel standards for class actions using representative class members); defendants may rebut via independent, court-appointed testing at their cost using generally accepted methods confirming insufficient PFAS quantities. If toxicological data is insufficient to prove increased disease risk, courts may lower the scientific proof standard and order new epidemiological, toxicological, or other studies as part of a medical monitoring remedy. The section expresses a sense of Congress encouraging reliable PFAS health effects research and specifies that it neither preempts nor provides an exclusive federal remedy for state law claims.