With new scientific information and legal developments emerging daily, concerns over per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination have moved from future threat to present liability —including for buildings that historically used PFAS-containing floor waxes, strippers and cleaners (collectively PFAS Floor Products). This alert summarizes key findings, outlines potential liability for legacy uses and recommends risk mitigation steps for owners/operators of locations that have historically used PFAS Floor Products.
Background: PFAS in Floor Products
PFAS comprise a category of thousands of human-made chemicals that have been used for decades in consumer and industrial applications due to their water- and stain-repellent properties. One such application is in commercial floor waxes. As early as the 1970s, manufacturers incorporated PFAS, such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) and similar compounds, into wax formulations to improve performance on high-traffic surfaces.[1] In some cases, PFAS may have been applied to floor tiles during their original manufacture.
Legal and Environmental Exposure Pathways
Facilities such as schools, gyms, grocery stores, shopping centers/malls, museums, warehouses, commercial office buildings and industrial buildings that historically used PFAS Floor Products may face several types of risks and associated liability:[2]
- Worker/Building Occupant Exposure
Custodial and maintenance workers may have unknowingly been exposed to PFAS through inhalation or skin contact during floor maintenance, while other building occupants may have been exposed after maintenance activities if PFAS-containing particulate matter remained airborne. Use of PFAS Floor Products may have aerosolized the chemicals, leading to potential inhalation and dermal exposure for workers conducting such activities that could lead to potential worker compensation or toxic tort claims.[3]
Further, while OSHA does not (yet) have a PFAS-specific standard, employers could face claims under the General Duty Clause (Section 5(a)(1)) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act for failing to adequately protect workers from known chemical hazards.
- Environmental Contamination and Waste Streams
Disposal of floor-stripping wastewater, used wax and other PFAS Floor Products can introduce PFAS into on-site septic systems, municipal sewer systems or landfills and these compounds eventually make their way into groundwater and other drinking water supplies. Some states, such as California and Vermont, have begun classifying PFAS-containing materials as potential hazardous wastes or subject to reporting under wastewater discharge permits. New Mexico recently classified certain PFAS-containing materials as hazardous waste and authorized regulatory oversight under its Hazardous Waste Act, imposing stricter obligations on storage, disposal and cleanup.[4] With the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), companies potentially face increased liability and cleanup obligations at their properties or at offsite treatment, storage and disposal facilities which received their PFAS-containing waste streams.
- Product Liability and Supply Chain Disclosures
As new laws mandate disclosure of, or bans on, intentionally added PFAS in cleaning products (e.g., Minnesota Statutes Chapter 116V, effective 2025), facilities may be required to identify legacy stock or disclose information about historical use to their supply chain, regulators or other stakeholders.
State Legal Developments
As states continue to move to ban products containing PFAS, facilities that use (or used) PFAS Floor Products face emerging compliance and liability risks. To date, five states have enacted bans or restrictions on cleaning products with intentionally added PFAS, with varying timelines and interpretations.
Current as of August 12, 2025
In 2024, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) published a Report On The Occurrence Of Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) In Floor Stripping And Refinishing Wastewater At Four Schools In New Hampshire that outlines its efforts at understanding the presence of PFAS in floor waxes and how that use can impact facilities and the surrounding environment. The NHDES continues to collect information regarding PFAS in floor waxes state-wide and its presence may lead to follow-up groundwater sampling. The report also highlights NHDES’s initiatives to launch outreach programs throughout New England aimed at addressing PFAS contamination linked to grocery store floor maintenance.
Recommended Risk Management Measures
Given this ever-evolving PFAS legal landscape, consider the following in the context of potential historical use of PFAS Floor Products:
- Inventory & Documentation
Conduct a full inventory of potential current and historic PFAS Floor Products, particularly from brands or suppliers active before 2020.
- Waste Stream Review
Evaluate how (and where) PFAS Floor Products are (and have historically been) collected, treated, stored and disposed of. If your facility is served by a private septic system, going forward it may be prudent to test any floor cleaning wastewater before discharge. Depending on your jurisdiction, PFAS-containing wastewater may require alternative disposal practices.
- Exposure Assessment
Assess worker health records and ventilation systems used during stripping and use operations. Consider industrial hygiene testing in older facilities. If your facility’s drinking water is supplied from a private on-site well, consider testing the source water to see if past wastewater discharges may have impacted the supply with PFAS.
With respect to grocery stores specifically, given concerns that floor waxing and stripping during off-hours could aerosolize PFAS, potentially settling on produce, meats and other foods, a targeted exposure assessment may be warranted to evaluate this issue and inform risk mitigation strategies.
- Procurement/Contracting
Update procurement policies to require PFAS-free cleaning products from your supply chain. Amend janitorial service contracts to require non-PFAS containing alternatives.
- Consult Legal Counsel
It would be prudent for facilities with substantial historical use of PFAS Floor Products to develop a PFAS risk management plan (RMP) and/or prepare for regulatory (or third party) inquiries. Recommend any RMP work be conducted under attorney-client privilege as collected data in some instances may later be required to be disclosed and/or create reporting compliance obligations with accelerated corrective action timelines. Where relevant, legal review of: past and present property, GL and other insurance policies (including for PFAS coverage or exclusions generally and specifically under any special pollution policy providing, for example, “non-owned disposal site” coverage for offsite treatment, storage and/or disposal of waste streams); waste handling practices; nearby/downgradient environmental and human receptors (e.g., drinking water supplies); vendor contracts/purchase orders; and workplace exposure management procedures is recommended.
Conclusion
PFAS Floor Products represent a growing source of concern — not just for current and future use, but for the legacy impacts (and potential liabilities) associated with historic practices. Given their chemical properties, worker and other building occupants’ exposure to airborne PFAS was possible even associated with routine maintenance activities in public and private buildings and companies may face obligations for contamination of soil, indoor air, groundwater or surface water from historical use and disposal practices of PFAS-containing floor waxes and other products. Facilities, particularly those in the food sector, that may have used PFAS Floor Products should take immediate steps to assess historical and current practices and develop a focused RMP under attorney-client privilege..
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[1] See EPA’s Fact Sheet on the Toxicity Assessment for PFBS.
[2] This client alert focuses on PFAS-containing floor waxes, but PFAS have long been used in other waxes including for recreational equipment like skis and snowboards as well as in commercial carpet cleaning products. PFAS have also been found in car wash products such as waxes, sealants and tire shines. The use of PFAS in these consumer products faces heightened scrutiny across the country. For example, while the EPA has not issued a specific nationwide ban on PFAS in waxes, it identified several high-performance ski wax products containing PFAS that were not reviewed for health risks under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act. See EPA’s Enforcement Alert, Doc. No. 305S21001 (Jan. 2002), available at https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-01/pfasskiwax.pdf. At the same time, states like New Hampshire are taking more aggressive steps. As of May 2025, New Hampshire amended its laws to ban the sale of ski, boat and surfboard waxes containing intentionally added PFAS. RSA 149-M:64.
[3] Zhou, J. et al., Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Airborne Particulate Matter (PM2.0) Emitted During Floor Waxing: A Pilot Study, 268 Atmos. Env’t 118845 (2022), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2021.118845.
[4] H.B. 140, 56th Leg., 1st Sess. (N.M. 2025) (enacted Apr. 8, 2025).
This article first appeared on CBIA's website and is published here with permission.
