Committees within the European Chemicals Agency (Echa) are supporting an EU-wide restriction on the production, marketing and use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This marks ‘a major step’ in dealing with these ‘forever chemicals’, with regulatory measures that are currently in place in the EU deemed insufficient to control PFAS emissions, according to a statement released by Echa.
What are PFAS?
PFAS – also known as ‘forever chemicals’ – are a family of an estimated 15,000 synthetic chemicals that have been widely used in consumer products globally since the 1950s. They are a class of chemicals that contain at least one perfluorinated methyl (–CF3) or methylene (–CF2–) group. They do not degrade easily in the environment because the carbon–fluorine bond is among the strongest in existence. The unique properties of these substances confer characteristics like repellence to oil, grease and water, as well as temperature resistance and friction reduction. This helps to create products that are non-stick and stain-resistant, for example.
However, PFAS are also highly mobile in the environment and they bioaccumulate, as well as biomagnify, up the food chain. PFOA and PFOS – the best studied of these substances – have been linked to serious health conditions like reproductive and developmental disorders, reduced immune function and certain types of cancer.
The governments of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway sent a proposal to Echa back in January 2023 to ban the thousands of PFAS chemicals on the market, as well as on those imported into the EU. A consultation on the proposed restrictions then ran from March to September later that year.
The Risk Assessment Committee (Rac ) has now concluded that ‘PFAS pose growing risks to people and the environment’, saying that ‘an EU-wide restriction is, therefore, an effective measure to reduce these risks’.
However, the committee highlights that certain products that use PFAS – including certain biocides, medicines and process chemicals – are exempt from the ban, as they already have existing restrictions. As such, Rac is also recommending clearer consumer labelling, instructions for safe use and better monitoring to minimise PFAS emissions from these products.
The Socio-Economic Analysis Committee (Seac) is also supporting the EU-wide ban, as well as strategies recommended by Rac. However, María Ottati, chairperson of Seac, notes that measures need to be ‘proportionate and workable’. ‘This balanced approach will reduce PFAS emissions while allowing certain uses to continue where an immediate ban would, on balance, lead to more negative than positive impacts.’
Seac has released a draft opinion on the PFAS ban, with a final statement expected later this year after consultation with stakeholders, including industries, non-governmental organisations, researchers and members of the public.
‘The committees have spent the last three years carefully dissecting the scientific and socio-economic evidence about PFAS and the harms they cause,’ says Hélène Duguy at ClientEarth, a non-profit environmental organisation. ‘It was no easy task, but their conclusion is clear: the EU needs a restriction on PFAS.’
‘Our policymakers owe it to people and our ecosystems across Europe to act now and prevent this emerging large-scale public health disaster,’ she adds.
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