II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1360 

To require the Secretary of Defense to include exposure to perfluoroalkyl 

substances and polyfluoroalkyl substances in periodic health assessments 

of members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2023 

Mrs. SHAHEEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Defense to include exposure 

to perfluoroalkyl substances and polyfluoroalkyl substances in periodic health assessments of members of 

the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘PFAS Exposure As5 sessment and Documentation Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF EXPOSURE TO PERFLUOROALKYL 

2 SUBSTANCES AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUB3 STANCES AS PART OF PERIODIC HEALTH AS4 SESSMENTS. 

5 (a) PERIODIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT.—The Sec6 retary of Defense shall ensure that any periodic health as7 sessment provided to a member of the Armed Forces in8 cludes an evaluation of whether the member has been— 

9 (1) based or stationed at a military installation 

10 identified by the Department of Defense as a loca11 tion with a known or suspected release of 

12 perfluoroalkyl substances or polyfluoroalkyl sub13 stances during the period in which the member was 

14 based or stationed at the military installation; or 

15 (2) exposed to such substances, including by 

16 evaluating any information in the health record of 

17 the member. 

18 (b) SEPARATION HISTORY AND PHYSICAL EXAMINA19 TIONS.—Section 1145(a)(5) of title 10, United States 

20 Code, is amended— 

21 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘subpara22 graph (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (E)’’; 

23 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub24 paragraph (E); and 

25 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol26 lowing new subparagraph (D): 


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1 ‘‘(D) The Secretary concerned shall ensure that each 

2 physical examination of a member under subparagraph 

3 (A) includes an assessment of whether the member was— 

4 ‘‘(i) based or stationed at a military installation 

5 identified by the Department as a location with a 

6 known or suspected release of perfluoroalkyl sub7 stances or polyfluoroalkyl substances during the pe8 riod in which the member was based or stationed at 

9 the military installation; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) exposed to such substances, including by 

11 assessing any information in the health record of the 

12 member.’’. 

13 (c) DEPLOYMENT ASSESSMENTS.—Section 

14 1074f(b)(2) of title 10, United States Code, is amended 

15 by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

16 ‘‘(E) An assessment of whether the member 

17 was— 

18 ‘‘(i) based or stationed at a military instal19 lation identified by the Department as a loca20 tion with a known or suspected release of 

21 perfluoroalkyl substances or polyfluoroalkyl sub22 stances during the period in which the member 

23 was based or stationed at the military installa24 tion; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) exposed to such substances, including 

2 by assessing any information in the health 

3 record of the member.’’. 

4 SEC. 3. PROVISION OF BLOOD TESTING FOR MEMBERS OF 

5 THE ARMED FORCES, FORMER MEMBERS OF 

6 THE ARMED FORCES, AND THEIR FAMILIES 

7 TO DETERMINE EXPOSURE TO 

8 PERFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES OR 

9 POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES. 

10 (a) MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a covered evaluation of a 

12 member of the Armed Forces results in a positive 

13 determination of potential exposure to perfluoroalkyl 

14 substances or polyfluoroalkyl substances, the Sec15 retary of Defense shall provide to that member, dur16 ing that covered evaluation, blood testing to deter17 mine and document potential exposure to such sub18 stances. 

19 (2) INCLUSION IN HEALTH RECORD.—The re20 sults of blood testing of a member of the Armed 

21 Forces conducted under paragraph (1) shall be in22 cluded in the health record of the member. 

23 (b) FORMER MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND

24 FAMILY MEMBERS.—The Secretary shall pay for blood 

25 testing to determine and document potential exposure to 


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1 perfluoroalkyl substances or polyfluoroalkyl substances for 

2 any covered individual, at the election of the individual, 

3 either through the TRICARE program for individuals oth4 erwise eligible for such program or through the use of 

5 vouchers to obtain such testing. 

6 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) COVERED EVALUATION.—The term ‘‘cov8 ered evaluation’’ means— 

9 (A) a periodic health assessment conducted 

10 in accordance with section 2(a); 

11 (B) a separation history and physical ex12 amination conducted under section 1145(a)(5) 

13 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by 

14 section 2(b); and 

15 (C) a deployment assessment conducted 

16 under section 1074f(b)(2) of such title, as 

17 amended by section 2(c). 

18 (2) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘covered 

19 individual’’ means a former member of the Armed 

20 Forces or a family member of a member or former 

21 member of the Armed Forces who lived at a location 

22 (or the surrounding area of such a location) identi23 fied by the Department of Defense as a location 

24 with a known or suspected release of perfluoroalkyl 

25 substances or polyfluoroalkyl substances during the 


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1 period in which the individual lived at that location 

2 (or surrounding area). 

3 (3) TRICARE PROGRAM.—The term 

4 ‘‘TRICARE program’’ has the meaning given that 

5 term in section 1072(7) of title 10, United States 

6 Code. 

7 SEC. 4. DOCUMENTATION OF EXPOSURE TO 

8 PERFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES OR 

9 POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES. 

10 (a) SHARING OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary of 

11 Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall enter 

12 into a memorandum of understanding providing for the 

13 sharing by the Department of Defense with the Depart14 ment of Veterans Affairs of the results of covered evalua15 tions regarding the exposure by a member of the Armed 

16 Forces to perfluoroalkyl substances or polyfluoroalkyl sub17 stances. 

18 (b) REGISTRY.— 

19 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of De20 fense shall establish a registry of members of the 

21 Armed Forces who have been exposed to, or are sus22 pected to have been exposed to, perfluoroalkyl sub23 stances or polyfluoroalkyl substances. 

24 (2) INCLUSION IN REGISTRY.—The Secretary 

25 shall include a member of the Armed Forces in the 


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1 registry established under paragraph (1) if a covered 

2 evaluation of the member establishes that the mem3 ber— 

4 (A) was based or stationed at a location 

5 identified by the Department of Defense as a 

6 location with a known or suspected release of 

7 perfluoroalkyl substances or polyfluoroalkyl sub8 stances during the period in which the member 

9 was based or stationed at the location; or 

10 (B) was exposed to such substances. 

11 (3) BLOOD TESTING.—The results of any blood 

12 test conducted under section 4(a) shall be included 

13 in the registry established under paragraph (1) for 

14 any member of the Armed Forces included in the 

15 registry. 

16 (4) ELECTION.—A member of the Armed 

17 Forces may elect not to be included in the registry 

18 established under paragraph (1). 

19 (c) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary of 

20 Defense shall provide to a member of the Armed Forces 

21 more information on perfluoroalkyl substances and 

22 polyfluoroalkyl substances and the potential impact of ex23 posure to such substances if a covered evaluation of such 

24 member establishes that the member— 


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1 (1) was based or stationed at a location identi2 fied by the Department of Defense as a location 

3 with a known or suspected release of perfluoroalkyl 

4 substances or polyfluoroalkyl substances during the 

5 period in which the member was based or stationed 

6 at the location; or 

7 (2) was exposed to such substances. 

8 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec9 tion may be construed to preclude eligibility of a veteran 

10 for benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary 

11 of Veterans Affairs by reason of the exposure of the vet12 eran to perfluoroalkyl substances or polyfluoroalkyl sub13 stances not being recorded in a covered evaluation. 

14 (e) COVERED EVALUATION DEFINED.—In this sec15 tion, the term ‘‘covered evaluation’’ means— 

16 (1) a periodic health assessment conducted in 

17 accordance with section 2(a); 

18 (2) a separation history and physical examina19 tion conducted under section 1145(a)(5) of title 10, 

20 United States Code, as amended by section 2(b); 

21 and 

22 (3) a deployment assessment conducted under 

23 section 1074f(b)(2) of such title, as amended by sec24 tion 2(c). 

Æ 


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