Jeff Strahan, Ph.D., and the director of research, compliance and sustainability at Milliken & Co., Spartanburg, SC, recently discussed how the company removed per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) from its textile fibers and finishes portfolio of products.

TRSA recently finalized the agenda for its California Regional Town Hall scheduled for May 2 in Anaheim. For added value, the Town Hall will be held in conjunction with the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo and Pacific Southwest NAFA Fleet Management Association Chapter events that will take place in Anaheim from May 1-4.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced its proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six varieties of PFAS, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA, commonly known as GenX Chemicals), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS). The proposed PFAS NPDWR does not require any actions until it is finalized, possibly later this year.

Thirty-two representatives of the linen, uniform and facility services industry recently participated in TRSA’s California Legislative Conference to address a series of issues likely to impact the industry – most importantly a proposed extended producer responsibility (EPR) for textiles. The EPR, similar to a bill signed into law last year in California pertaining to single-use plastics, would create significant fee obligations and make manufacturers and other businesses such as laundries responsible for collecting used textiles for recycling. Other issues included per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), microplastics and last-mile delivery zero-emissions regulations.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued new enforcement guidance regarding penalties for repeated violations of workplace safety and health requirements.

In light of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) expanding their waste-disposal ban to include textiles, TRSA hosted an hour-long information session on Jan. 25 to discuss the impact on the linen, uniform and facility services industry.

TRSA held a webinar on Jan. 19 to update its members on the most recent information concerning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their impact on the linen, uniform and facility services industry through potential government regulations.

TRSA’s February issue of Textile Services will feature a cover article on safety issues and how attitudes have shifted following the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a new interactive webpage, called the “PFAS Analytic Tools,” which provides information about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) across the country. This information will help the public, researchers and other stakeholders better understand potential PFAS sources in their communities. The PFAS Analytic Tools brings together multiple sources of information in one spot with mapping, charting and filtering functions, allowing the public to see where testing has been done and what level of detections were measured.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to close a “loophole” that allowed some companies to get out of reporting their releases of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, according to news reports.