On February 23, 2022, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) submitted a proposal for the EU-wide restriction of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds) in firefighting foams. This proposal will prevent further contamination of groundwater and soil, as well as reduce risks to human health and the environment.

The main content of the proposal is to ban all PFAS for firefighting foam from the market, use and export after a specified transition period. ECHA plans to conduct a 6-month public comment on this proposal on March 23, 2022. The ECHA Scientific Committee on Risk Assessment and Socio-Economic Analysis will evaluate the proposal based on the scientific evidence received during the comment period. The European Commission will combine the proposal and the The committee's opinion makes a formal decision on whether to include REACH restrictions.

In addition, five European countries (Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway) are working on a restriction proposal that would cover all other uses of PFAS, and they plan to submit proposals to ECHA in January 2023. The EU’s Sustainable Chemicals Strategy puts PFAS policy front and centre. The European Commission has committed to phasing out all PFASs, allowing their use only where they prove to be irreplaceable and essential to society.

Background

PFAS (perfluorinated and polyfluoroalkyl compounds) are composed of thousands of substances that are persistent, long-range transportable, toxic and bioaccumulative and are currently detected in many animal and human blood samples worldwide. Presence of perfluorinated compounds. The harm of perfluorinated compounds to humans and the environment has attracted extensive attention from relevant countries and international organizations, and more and more perfluorinated compounds have been included or are about to be included in regulations. PFOA, PFOS, PFHxA, PFHxS, C9-C14 PFCAs, etc. all belong to PFAS.

Common perfluorinated and polyfluoroalkyl compounds control requirements

Reminder

The global control of PFAS has gradually extended from PFOA and PFOS to long-chain PFAS such as C9-C14 PFCAs, while short-chain PFAS such as PFHxS and PFHxA will be the focus of the next step. Given that PFAS has been widely used in foam fire extinguishing agents, pesticides, food packaging materials, building materials, metal plating and other fields, it is expected that many companies will be affected by its control. ZRLK recommends that relevant companies pay attention to the progress of domestic and foreign regulations in a timely manner, check the use of PFAS in products as soon as possible, and prepare PFAS alternatives in advance to ensure that the products put on the market meet the regulatory requirements and avoid unnecessary economic losses.