PFASs Restrictions will not encompass essential use-EU

The EU has announced that the ban on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) will not include the essential use criteria. This is because the essential use criteria will not be ready at the right time for the restriction proposal. The essential criteria are expected to be agreed on by the end of the year whereas the PFASs restriction process has already started.  

Due to these different timelines, the strategy to ban all uses of PFASs expect the essential use criteria will still be adapted. However, the restriction proposal will rely on existing tools to analyse the substances within this category to determine if there are safer alternatives or not, thereby determining if such substance use is essential or not. 

Due to the dossier’s complexity, the submission of the joint restriction proposal by Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway has been postponed to January 2023, giving them a six month extension. Also, the ban’s implementation may be pushed back from 2025. 

Regarding the restrictions that are already in place for specific PFASs such as the ones used in firefighting foams, and the ones banned in persistent organic pollutants (POPs) Regulation, the Commission will decide if these existing restrictions are to be separate or merged with the universal restriction.