Preview: Implications of PFAS Regulation on the Commercial Real Estate Industry
Laura Boorman Truesdale
Mary Katherine H. Stukes
Moore & Van Allen
Early preview of the article to be featured in the NAIOP Development Magazine this fall.
If you have read the news lately, you have likely heard about “forever chemicals” and the dangers they may pose. While you might be familiar with the potential impacts on human health and the environment, the implications of these chemicals on the commercial real estate industry may be less obvious.
The term “forever chemicals” refers generally to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, also known as “PFAS.” PFAS are man-made and have been manufactured in the United States for over 70 years. They are used in a wide array of consumer and commercial products and processes across industry sectors and have achieved popularity and success in large part because of their unique resilience to degradation. While the chemical makeup of PFAS has made them critical to certain industries, it has also allowed them to persist widely in the environment (and potentially in humans and animals).