“PFAS must be managed as a single chemical class due to their persistence and health risks” | EUROtoday

LPFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are man-made molecules nicknamed “perennial pollutants” by the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety due to their stability and their nature is tough to degrade within the atmosphere. There are a number of thousand totally different PFAS.

A really giant variety of industries use these polluting molecules: useful resource extraction, chemistry, electronics, agri-food, development, medical, cosmetics, weapons, and many others. An OECD report, for instance, warns of the presence of PFAS in additional than 90% of meals packaging, when more healthy and already identified options exist.

Certain industries are accountable for PFAS releases into the atmosphere, comparable to these noticed on the Arkema and Daikin factories within the “chemistry valley”, close to Lyon. However, assessing the well being danger brought on by every PFAS can take many years.

The refusal of industrialists

For this motive, we request that PFAS be managed as a single chemical class, within the identify of their persistence and their demonstrated or potential dangers to human and environmental well being. This can be a request from a number of EU well being security businesses, defined within the proposal to limit using PFAS by producers submitted by 5 European states, together with Germany, to the European Health Agency. chemical merchandise.

However, through the assembly of the sustainable growth committee which was held on March 27 on the Assembly, a part of the debates targeted on the distinction between “non-polymers” (comparable to PFOA, perfluorooctanoic acid) and “polymers” (comparable to PTFE – polytetrafluoroethylene –, higher generally known as Teflon for its registered model identify, utilized in kitchen utensils).

With regard to the amendments proposed within the invoice, the target is to exclude polymers from the PFAS ban, as desired by producers. The latter defend the security of polymers like PTFE on the argument that their giant dimension doesn’t enable them to behave on our physique, and are based mostly on a fallacious reinterpretation of the OECD place on polymers.

Alert from the European Food Safety Authority

These positions, nevertheless, go immediately in opposition to scientific research on the topic, as summarized particularly by a scientific analysis of public insurance policies revealed within the journal Environmental Science & Technology in 2020, or the scientific journal Environmental Science. Processes & Impacts.

You have 55.42% of this text left to learn. The relaxation is reserved for subscribers.