On January 13, 2023, the EU Member States of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden officially submitted a proposal to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to restrict all per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) across the EU. According to ECHA, “it is one of the broadest restrictions proposed in the EU’s history.”
When announcing the intention to restrict PFAS, the five nations asserted that a restriction is necessary because “PFAS are, or ultimately transform into, persistent substances, leading to irreversible environmental exposure and accumulation… It has been proven very difficult and extremely costly to remove PFAS when released to the environment. In addition, some PFAS have been documented as toxic and/or bioaccumulative substances… Without taking action, their concentrations will continue to increase, and their toxic and polluting effects will be difficult to reverse” (FPF reported, also here and here). In 2022, researchers proposed that a planetary boundary for PFAS has already been exceeded (FPF reported).
The nations first mentioned their intention to create a restriction in December 2019 (FPF reported), began collecting evidence in May 2020 (FPF reported), and officially declared their intention to submit a restriction proposal in July 2021 (FPF reported).
ECHA must review all the submitted information and will then make the entirety of the proposal available online on February 7, 2023. A 6-month public consultation will then begin on March 22, 2023. The five national chemical authorities will hold a joint media conference on February 7 at 11:00 CET.
France released a national PFAS action plan a few days later on January 17, 2023. The new French plan has six actions: (i) created standards to guide public action, (ii) support the implementation of the aforementioned EU PFAS ban, (iii) improve understanding of the sources and exposure levels of PFAS in the environment and while waiting for the EU process to take action locally, (iv)reduce indutrial emissions, (v) ensure transparency of available information, and (vi) include PFAS in actions related to micropollutants already underway.
The restriction of PFAS is not only being seen as beneficial from an environmental and human health perspective but also from an economical one. In July 2022, researchers calculated the annual disease burden and associated economic costs of exposure to long-chain PFAS in the US to be at least $5.52 billion and up to $62.6 billion (FPF reported). In 2019, the Nordic Co-operation estimated the annual total health impact costs from PFAS exposure for the European Economic Area to be between €52 and €84 billion (FPF reported).
Read more
ECHA (January 13, 2023). “ECHA receives PFASs restriction proposal from five national authorities.”
Ministry for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion (January 17, 2023). “Plan d’actions ministériel sur les PFAS.” Government of France (pdf, in French)
