Webinar – How to Identify and Manage PFAS Risks in CRE Transactions
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of more than 6,000 manufactured fluorinated chemicals, including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanic acid (PFOA) used in nonstick, water repellant, and stain-resistant consumer products such as food containers and fabrics, and other industrial products, such as fire-fighting foams. Sometimes called “forever chemicals,” PFAS have made their way into the air, soil, and drinking water supplies in thousands of communities nationwide. Some PFAS may accumulate in the human body and are suspected to have significant adverse effects on human health and the environment. Potential liability and nationwide cleanup costs of PFAS are estimated in the billions. As such, PFAS are an important and emerging risk management consideration in any commercial property transaction.
Although EPA recently announced its PFAS Strategic Roadmap, the lack of enforceable nationwide standards to date and public concern about the health effects of PFAS has prompted some states to promulgate their own PFAS regulations and policies. This patchwork of evolving and inconsistent compliance obligations coupled with a lack of scientific consensus about safe exposure limits to these thousands of chemicals makes it difficult to accurately categorize, estimate, and manage PFAS risks.
To help you better understand and address the potential risks from PFAS in CRE transactions, our featured expert panelists will:
- Highlight the differences between PFAS subfamilies and different industrial and consumer uses to showcase the wide-ranging uses and properties of this class of chemicals, which complicates overgeneralized statements.
- Discuss the evolution and current state of regulatory frameworks and the role toxicology plays (or doesn’t play) in setting regulatory standards for PFAS.
- Explain the forensics of “forever chemicals,” including strategies for identifying and allocating sources of PFAS.
- Provide their insight on the unique compliance and remediation challenges related to PFAS, including the impacts of changing regulatory requirements, identifying appropriate cleanup targets and technologies, and dealing with the possibility of reopeners at closed sites.
- Offer strategies and tools to assist with identifying potential sources of PFAS and managing related risks as part of environmental due diligence.
About the Panel
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Dr. Janet Anderson, Ph.D., DABT, Principal Toxicologist, GSI Environmental Inc. Dr. Anderson is a Principal Toxicologist with 15 years of experience providing toxicology and risk management strategies to federal agencies, private industry, and municipal clients. She also provides litigation consulting and expert services and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology. Dr. Anderson is a recognized leader in unregulated and emerging contaminants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 1,4-dioxane. She has developed strategies to mitigate human health risks and address environmental liability associated with these emerging chemicals for both private and public sector clients. She tracks rapidly evolving science and regulations in the U.S. and internationally, assisting clients with navigating disparate guidelines and stakeholder concerns worldwide. She has extensive experience developing risk communication and risk management strategies for multi stakeholder groups impacted by emerging and unregulated chemicals. |
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Andy Basehoar, PG, LSRP, Senior Project Manager, TTI Environmental Inc. Andy Basehoar has been with TTI since 2013 and in the environmental field for over 14 years. Mr. Basehoar provides senior level consulting services in areas including oversight of due diligence projects including Phase I & II Environmental Assessments and management of multi-level environmental investigation/remediation projects at federal facilities, commercial and industrial sites. Mr. Basehoar is the National Account Manager for several lending institutions for environmental due diligence. |
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Melanie Veltman, Director of Research & Data, ERIS As the Director of Research & Data, Melanie leads the data team at ERIS – North America’s choice for environmental risk data. Her initiatives to develop data policies and innovate data processes have allowed ERIS’ team of analysts to greatly expand their work researching, collecting, analyzing, and loading tens of millions of environmental risk records for the US, Canada, and Mexico. |
About the Moderator:
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Mary Ann Grena Manley, Founder and President, 15E Communications LLC Mary Ann is the Founder and President of 15E Communications LLC, a Washington, DC-based consulting firm that assists clients with communications strategy, content, business development, and public relations. Prior to founding 15E in 2020, Mary Ann managed Bloomberg Industry Group’s coverage and analysis of global Environment, Health, Safety, and Sustainability issues for more than 20 years. With experiences cutting across environmental law, policy analysis, journalism, and marketing, she most recently served as Deputy Editorial Director for Bloomberg Environment. Her areas of policy expertise include environmental compliance, environmental due diligence, risk management, brownfields redevelopment, sustainability, and ESG. |