Breakdown product of pesticides and refrigerants may be classed as reproductive toxicant by EU

The European Chemicals Agency (Echa) has formally recommended classifying trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a breakdown product of certain pesticides and refrigerants, as a reproductive toxicant that may impair fertility and harm an unborn child. This decision, announced 10 June and based on the conclusions of Echa’s risk assessment committee (RAC) earlier this month, could have significant implications for the regulation of drugs, pesticides and refrigerants.

The RAC opinion, based on animal studies, will be forwarded to the European Commission. Echa has also backed the RAC conclusion that TFA should be designated as persistent, mobile and toxic. The EU classes TFA as a member of the family of environmentally-persistent chemicals known as per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The recommended classification change will next be forwarded to the commission for action, and that process will likely take nine to 15 months, according to Hans Peter Arp, a chemist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology whose research classified TFA as a global threat.