Identifying Persistent and Mobile Chemicals to Strengthen Water Security
Chemical Hazard Data Trust integrates a new screen for mobile substances, furthering alternative identification for "Forever Chemical" and beyond.
DURHAM, NC – As the global business community faces an unprecedented mandate to phase out per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the Chemical Hazard Data Trust is advancing its commitment to providing the best available science for proactive chemical management.
ChemFORWARD, a nonprofit organization that manages the Data Trust, announced today a major methodological upgrade. The integration of a new "Mobility" endpoint based on rigorous European standards. This enhancement provides users with a critical proactive tool: the ability to identify and avoid Persistent, Mobile, and Toxic (PMT) and Very Persistent and Very Mobile (vPvM) substances before they enter the supply chain.
Closing the "Mobility Gap" with Best-in-Class Science
While PFAS—often called "forever chemicals"—have dominated headlines due to their persistence, their environmental, health, and business risk extends to their ability to easily migrate into surface and drinking water. PFAS are not the only substances for which this concern exists, making “mobility” the next frontier of regulatory scrutiny.
By adopting a modified version of the European Commission’s Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) regulation criteria, the Data Trust now offers a higher level of health protection than standard benchmarks. This ensures that companies seeking "safer" alternatives aren't inadvertently switching to chemicals that pose a long-term threat to global water security.
Turning Data into Business Intelligence
The integration of these endpoints has already yielded immediate, actionable insights. Trust’s updated methodology flagged high-risk substances that were previously undetected in a recent audit of its extensive library of Chemical Hazard Assessments (CHAs).
This information is vital for manufacturers and retailers to inform a list of chemicals for reduction, elimination, or further management. Early intervention can prevent costly regulatory actions, protect brand reputation, and protect human and environmental health by staying ahead of the legislative curve.
These chemicals fail to meet minimum criteria for safer alternatives as established by OECD in their “Guidance on Key Considerations for the Identification and Selection of Safer Chemical Alternatives.”
This information is vital for manufacturers and retailers to inform a list of chemicals for reduction, elimination, or further management. Early intervention can prevent costly regulatory actions, protect brand reputation, and protect human and environmental health by staying ahead of the legislative curve.
Proactive Management through the Data Trust
In an era of rapid regulatory shifts, the Chemical Hazard Data Trust serves as a centralized, toxicologist-created, peer-reviewed repository that simplifies complex toxicology into clear, actionable "Hazard Bands." By adding mobility data, the Trust continues to refine the infrastructure necessary for a truly circular and lower-hazard economy.
"Our focus is to provide hazard data using the most robust, science-based methods to inform safer chemistry," said Heather McKenney, Director of Science and Safer Chemistry at ChemFORWARD. "As mobility emerges as a novel and critical endpoint, we provide data to enable the industry to move faster than the regulations—identifying chemicals of concern today rather than waiting for tomorrow's headlines."
How to Take Action
The results of the new mobility assessments are now live and accessible to subscribers of the Chemical Hazard Data Trust.
For Supply Chain Managers: Audit your current portfolios against the new PMT/vPvM classifications.
For R&D Teams: Screen new candidates against the updated Hazard Bands to ensure long-term viability.
To gain access to the data or schedule a briefing on how these updates affect your industry, contact the ChemFORWARD team at info@chemforward.org.
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ChemFORWARD is a nonprofit, science-based organization dedicated to ending toxic chemical exposure by making hazard data broadly accessible and illuminating safer alternatives. As managers of the Chemical Hazard Data Trust, ChemFORWARD provides transparent, toxicologist-created, peer-reviewed information that helps brands, suppliers, and scientists create safer, more sustainable products across industries such as beauty, electronics, apparel, and packaging.
