- 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/
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
Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024