PFAS Accountability Act of 2021
Bill: S.1334 | Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. (D-NY)
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
PFAS Accountability Act of 2021
This bill provides a cause of action under the Toxic Substances Control Act for individuals or classes of individuals who were significantly exposed to perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS. These substances are man-made and may have adverse human health effects. A variety of products contain the compounds, such as nonstick cookware or weatherproof clothing.
Specifically, the bill provides a cause of action those who were significantly exposed to PFAS (or have reasonable grounds to believe they were exposed) against persons who engaged in any portion of a manufacturing process that created the PFAS and foresaw (or reasonably should have foreseen) the creation or use of PFAS would result in human exposure.
The bill authorizes a court to award medical monitoring to claimants if (1) they have been significantly exposed to PFAS, (2) they have an increased risk of developing a disease associated with such exposure, (3) the increased risk provides a reasonable basis to conclude that periodic diagnostic medical examinations is necessary, and (4) the medical examinations are effective in detecting a disease associated with PFAS exposure.
The bill establishes a presumption of significant exposure to PFAS if the claimant (1) provides medical results proving the presence of PFAS in the body, or (2) demonstrates the defendant's manufacturing process created the PFAS to which the claimant was exposed and the PFAS were released into one or more areas where the claimant would have been exposed for at least one year.

To amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to codify a Federal cause of 
  action and a type of remedy available for individuals significantly 
 exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, to encourage research 
and accountability for irresponsible discharge of those substances, and 
                          for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``PFAS Accountability Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has 
        detected numerous perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances 
        (referred to in this Act as ``PFAS'') in the blood serum of 
        individuals in the United States, all of which come from 
        manufacturing and use of PFAS by humans, as there is no natural 
        source of PFAS in human blood;
            (2) peer-reviewed studies by other organizations have 
        detected PFAS in the drinking water of at least 200,000,000 
        individuals in the United States;
            (3) PFAS are introduced into the market every year, and 
        little research is conducted to ensure the safety of PFAS for 
        individuals;
            (4) as of the day before the date of enactment of this Act, 
        a Federal statutory cause of action does not exist for 
        individuals harmed by the long-term effects of PFAS exposure; 
        and
            (5) PFAS exposure, even at low levels, has been linked to 
        chronic diseases, including cancer, reproductive and 
        developmental harms, and harms to the immune system.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to encourage PFAS research and provide accountability 
        for irresponsible PFAS manufacturing and irresponsible use of 
        PFAS in manufacturing by codifying--
                    (A) a Federal cause of action for individuals 
                significantly exposed to PFAS; and
                    (B) a medical monitoring remedy for those 
                individuals;
            (2) to help address harm to individuals significantly 
        exposed to PFAS by--
                    (A) codifying that harm as an injury at law and 
                equity; and
                    (B) shifting the costs of medical monitoring from 
                those individuals to the parties responsible for the 
                exposure; and
            (3) to provide incentives for industry to fund PFAS safety 
        research.

SEC. 4. CAUSE OF ACTION AND REMEDIES.

    (a) In General.--The Toxic Substances Control Act is amended by 
inserting after section 24 (15 U.S.C. 2623) the following:

``SEC. 25. INDIVIDUALS EXPOSED TO PERFLUOROALKYL AND POLYFLUOROALKYL 
              SUBSTANCES.

    ``(a) Definition of PFAS.--In this section, the term `PFAS' means a 
perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance with at least 1 fully 
fluorinated carbon atom.
    ``(b) Cause of Action.--An individual who is significantly exposed 
to PFAS or has reasonable grounds to suspect that the individual was 
significantly exposed to PFAS may bring a claim, individually or on 
behalf of a class of similarly situated individuals, in any district 
court of the United States for appropriate legal and equitable relief 
against any person that--
            ``(1) engaged in any portion of a manufacturing process 
        that created the PFAS to which the individual was significantly 
        exposed, including any telomer, fluorosurfactant, or toll 
        manufacturing process leading to the creation of the PFAS to 
        which the individual was significantly exposed; and
            ``(2) foresaw or reasonably should have foreseen that the 
        creation or use of PFAS would result in human exposure to PFAS.
    ``(c) Medical Monitoring.--
            ``(1) In general.--A court may award medical monitoring to 
        an individual or class of individuals bringing a claim under 
        subsection (b) if--
                    ``(A) the individual or class has been 
                significantly exposed to PFAS;
                    ``(B) as a result of that exposure, the individual 
                or class has suffered an increased risk of developing a 
                disease associated with exposure to PFAS;
                    ``(C) as a result of that increased risk, there is 
                a reasonable basis for the individual or class to 
                undergo periodic diagnostic medical examinations of a 
                nature or frequency that is different from or 
                additional to what would be prescribed in the absence 
                of the exposure; and
                    ``(D) those medical examinations are effective in 
                detecting a disease associated with exposure to PFAS.
            ``(2) Presumption of significant exposure.--
                    ``(A) Individuals.--An individual plaintiff shall 
                be presumed to have been significantly exposed to PFAS 
                under paragraph (1)(A) if the individual--
                            ``(i) demonstrates that--
                                    ``(I) the defendant engaged in any 
                                portion of a manufacturing process that 
                                created the PFAS to which the 
                                individual was significantly exposed, 
                                including any telomer, 
                                fluorosurfactant, or toll manufacturing 
                                process leading to the creation of the 
                                PFAS to which the individual was 
                                significantly exposed; and
                                    ``(II) the PFAS described in 
                                subclause (I) were released into 1 or 
                                more areas where the individual would 
                                have been exposed for a cumulative 
                                period of not less than 1 year; or
                            ``(ii) offers testing results that 
                        demonstrate that PFAS or metabolites of PFAS 
                        have been or are currently detected in the body 
                        or blood serum of the individual.
                    ``(B) Class actions.--In a class action, a 
                presumption of significant exposure to PFAS under 
                paragraph (1)(A) shall be established for the class 
                by--
                            ``(i) demonstrating that--
                                    ``(I) the defendant engaged in any 
                                portion of a manufacturing process that 
                                created the PFAS to which the class 
                                members were significantly exposed, 
                                including any telomer, 
                                fluorosurfactant, or toll manufacturing 
                                process leading to the creation of the 
                                PFAS to which the class members were 
                                significantly exposed; and
                                    ``(II) the PFAS described in 
                                subclause (I) were released into 1 or 
                                more areas where a representative 
                                portion of the class members would have 
                                been exposed for a cumulative period of 
                                not less than 1 year; or
                            ``(ii) offering testing results that 
                        demonstrate that PFAS or metabolites of PFAS 
                        have been or are currently detected in the 
                        bodies of a representative portion of class 
                        members that share sufficient common exposure 
                        characteristics with the class.
            ``(3) Rebutting the presumption.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A defendant may rebut a 
                presumption of significant exposure with respect to an 
                individual plaintiff or class member for which testing 
                results are not offered under subparagraph (A)(ii) or 
                (B)(ii) of paragraph (2) by offering results for that 
                individual or class member of testing that--
                            ``(i) uses a generally accepted method for 
                        detecting the particular PFAS or metabolites of 
                        PFAS at issue;
                            ``(ii) is performed by an independent 
                        provider agreed on by both parties; and
                            ``(iii) confirms that the relevant PFAS or 
                        metabolites of PFAS likely were not present in 
                        the body of the individual or class member at 
                        the relevant time in a sufficient quantity to 
                        qualify as significant exposure under paragraph 
                        (1)(A).
                    ``(B) Costs.--A defendant shall be responsible for 
                the costs of testing under subparagraph (A).
                    ``(C) Independent provider.--If both parties cannot 
                agree on an independent provider under subparagraph 
                (A)(ii), the court shall appoint an independent 
                provider.
            ``(4) Increased risk of developing disease.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If there is insufficient 
                toxicological data to reasonably determine whether an 
                individual or class has suffered an increased risk of 
                developing a disease associated with exposure to any 
                individual PFAS or group of PFAS under paragraph 
                (1)(B), a court may lower the standard for scientific 
                proof with regard to the increased risk of developing 
                that disease until independent and reliable 
                toxicological data is available with respect to that 
                individual PFAS or group of PFAS.
                    ``(B) Ordering studies.--To make available 
                independent and reliable toxicological data described 
                in subparagraph (A) with respect to an individual PFAS 
                or group of PFAS, a court may order new or additional 
                epidemiological, toxicological, or other studies or 
                investigations of that individual PFAS or group of PFAS 
                as part of a medical monitoring remedy awarded under 
                paragraph (1).
    ``(d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that courts 
should encourage more reliable and independent research into the latent 
health effects of PFAS.
    ``(e) Effect on State Law Claims and Remedies.--Nothing in this 
section--
            ``(1) preempts, alters, bars, or precludes any State law 
        claims or remedies, including any State law claims or remedies 
        for an injury addressed by this section; or
            ``(2) provides an exclusive claim or remedy.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Toxic 
Substances Control Act (Public Law 94-469; 90 Stat. 2003) is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 24 the following:

``Sec. 25. Individuals exposed to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl 
                            substances.''.
                                 <all>