Clean Harbors Launches “Total PFAS Solution” Addressing Customers’ Forever Chemicals Needs

By: Clean Harbors, Inc. via Business Wire

April 04, 2024 at 08:30 AM EDT

Solution Includes Lab Analysis, Filtration, Removal and PFAS Destruction
“Total PFAS Solution” is the Market’s First and Only Customizable End-to-End PFAS Offering
Company Positioned to Serve as Critical Partner to a Variety of Industries in Addressing Their PFAS Needs

Clean Harbors, Inc. (“Clean Harbors”) (NYSE: CLH), the leading provider of environmental and industrial services throughout North America, today introduced its “Total PFAS Solution” to address all the needs of customers related to PFAS (per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances), which are commonly referred to as forever chemicals. Clean Harbors’ Total PFAS Solution is the industry’s first and only one-stop-shop consisting of eight core elements and providing customers with a range of services from analysis to remediation to disposal. The Company’s offering is detailed on its recently updated PFAS website – www.cleanharbors.com/PFAS.

“Through our discussions with customers in recent years, it was clear that the market is in desperate need of a singular PFAS offering that is a true end-to-end solution, so we set out to develop just that,” said Eric Gerstenberg, Clean Harbors co-Chief Executive Officer. “We conducted a comprehensive third-party study in 2021 that proved that our incinerators could achieve destruction levels of greater than 99.9999% for all the key PFAS analytes. Several of our lab locations have achieved certification allowing us to perform some of the industry’s most advanced soil and water sampling analysis. Our Total PFAS Solution provides us an additional avenue to leverage our world-class remediation, transportation and disposal capabilities while contributing to a safer and cleaner environment for all. Today, Clean Harbors is the only company that can offer a cradle-to-grave single-source answer at a commercially scalable level.”

“Regulations around PFAS have begun to finally take shape in recent years as the EPA has pursued its PFAS Strategic Roadmap. Additional regulations and a better-defined framework are anticipated to be announced in the coming year,” said Mike Battles, co-Chief Executive Officer. “We are introducing the Total PFAS Solution in preparation for the expected development and growth in demand that these regulations will spur, both in the private and government sectors, including with the Department of Defense (DoD). Whether it is customers seeking front-end testing and analytics to determine their site contamination, customers with stockpiles of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), or customers evaluating site cleanup, our proven Total PFAS Solution is customizable to meet all of those needs.”

History of PFAS in the U.S.

PFAS compounds have been manufactured in the U.S. since the 1930s and became a primary ingredient in nonstick and waterproof coatings. After several decades, development and usage of PFAS greatly expanded with wide-ranging applications, including nonstick cookware, stain-resistant carpeting, grease-resistant food packaging, corrosive-resistant pipes and wires, and eventually AFFF that became the gold standard for fighting chemical fires for more than 50 years. Before scientists and health organizations recognized the potential for adverse impacts on humans and animals, PFAS became ubiquitous around the planet.

Eventually, the detrimental health effects of certain categories of PFAS became clear. There has been a strong linkage of PFAS to cancer rates, birth defects and other medical conditions. Addressing PFAS contaminants in various media became a major focus of regulatory authorities across the country. While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not yet officially labeled PFAS in all of its many forms as hazardous, the Agency did work with major manufacturers between 2000-2006 to obtain commitments to phase out the production of two forms of PFAS – PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctyl sulfonate) – due to health concerns. As of 2015, the manufacture of PFOA and PFOS in the U.S. had largely ceased. In addition, several U.S. states have already begun regulating PFAS in different media, including drinking water, soil, groundwater, and in air emissions.

A Total Solution for All

“One of the challenges with PFAS is that it involves a wide variety of compounds that, in some cases, have been used for more than 50 years,” said Gerstenberg. “Many of these chemicals continue to spread through the environment because they never degrade. There are huge stockpiles of these compounds, as well as contaminated soil and water at countless locations. These include current and former industrial facilities that produced or utilized PFAS, locations still holding AFFF, military bases, airports, and other industrial facilities that frequently used AFFF for years, or in drinking water where it has leached into groundwater from the soil. Our Total PFAS Solution enables us to be a critical partner for many companies and industries trying to address this credible threat to the environment and human health. Our end-to-end solution includes thermal destruction at our incineration facilities, including state-of-the-art pollution and emission controls. We view this as the best solution for eliminating PFAS and the data generated by our study supports the confidence we have in our technology.”

Incineration Study Results

The results of the Company’s 2021 testing demonstrated that common legacy and replacement PFAS – including PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS and Gen-X PFAS – are efficiently and effectively destroyed in Clean Harbors’ high-temperature thermal destruction units at levels exceeding 99.9999% of destruction. Achieving destruction of greater than 99.9999% is equivalent to demonstrating that for every million mass units of a compound introduced into the incinerator, less than one mass unit is detected at the stack. Under the testing conditions, not only were the PFAS compounds sufficiently destroyed, but ambient concentrations from stack emissions were orders of magnitude safer than any state or federal ambient air limit guideline in effect.

“Since our third-party study was completed, we have continued to share our methodology and results with regulators, government entities and customers, many of whom are seeking a reliable solution to best address forever chemicals,” Battles concluded. “Not only can we help them safely eliminate the most dangerous members of the PFAS family, but with today’s launch of our Total PFAS Solution, we can address all of their PFAS needs.”

About Clean Harbors

Clean Harbors (NYSE: CLH) is North America’s leading provider of environmental and industrial services. The Company serves a diverse customer base, including a majority of Fortune 500 companies. Its customer base spans a number of industries, including chemical, energy and manufacturing, as well as numerous government agencies. These customers rely on Clean Harbors to deliver a broad range of services such as end-to-end hazardous waste management, emergency spill response, industrial cleaning and maintenance, and recycling services. Through its Safety-Kleen subsidiary, Clean Harbors also is North America’s largest re-refiner and recycler of used oil and a leading provider of parts washers and environmental services to commercial, industrial and automotive customers. Founded in 1980 and based in Massachusetts, Clean Harbors operates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and India. For more information, visit www.cleanharbors.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Any statements contained herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “plans to,” “seeks,” “should,” “estimates,” “projects,” “may,” “likely,” or similar expressions. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about the potential for the Company’s Total PFAS Solution, and other statements that are not historical facts. Such statements are based upon the beliefs and expectations of Clean Harbors’ management as of this date only and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including, without limitation, those items identified as “Risk Factors” in Clean Harbors’ most recently filed Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Therefore, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Clean Harbors undertakes no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements other than through its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which may be viewed in the “Investors” section of Clean Harbors’ website at www.cleanharbors.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240404491584/en/

Contacts

Eric J. Dugas

EVP and Chief Financial Officer

Clean Harbors, Inc.

781.792.5100

InvestorRelations@cleanharbors.com

Jim Buckley

SVP Investor Relations

Clean Harbors, Inc.

781.792.5100

Buckley.James@cleanharbors.com

Customer Contact:

Paul Bratti

Senior Vice President, Remediation

Clean Harbors, Inc.

781.792.5000

brattip@cleanharbors.com

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Clean Harbors Launches “Total PFAS Solution” Addressing Customers’ Forever Chemicals Needs

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