Fluoropolymers in the PFAS restriction proposal
11.4.2024
Priority question for written answer P-001089/2024
to the Commission
Rule 138
Andreas Glück (Renew)
In January 2023, the authorities of five countries submitted the most far-reaching proposal for restriction that has ever put forward under the regulation on the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (REACH Regulation). The proposal targets the whole group of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), comprising over 10 000 substances.
Fluoropolymers are a sub-group of PFAS with distinctly different chemical properties than some other PFAS. They are not toxic, carcinogenic or bioaccumulative and therefore meet the criteria of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for ‘polymers of low concern’. Since fluoropolymers are widely used in industrial processes and supply chains, specific end-use derogations for fluoropolymers would not prevent the massive disruption expected from the adoption of a far-reaching PFAS restriction.
- 1.Is the Commission considering general, indefinite derogations for specific substance groups, like fluoropolymers?
- 2.How does the Commission plan to ensure that companies, especially small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), will be able to keep working with fluoropolymers that are essential to many applications in their complex supply chains?
Submitted:11.4.2024