2nd Stakeholder Consultation on a Restriction for PFAS

August 25, 2021

The competent authorities for REACH of the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway are currently preparing a REACH Annex XV Restriction Dossier for the group of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) described below (as defined under Section II. Substances) since all these substances are considered to be persistent.

The consequences of this persistence include that the presence of these substances in the environment is practically irreversible, and pose an unacceptable risk to the environment and humans. All uses of PFAS (professional and industrial uses, consumer uses of mixtures and articles) result in emissions into the environment and contribute to the overall concentrations of PFAS in the environment. Many members of this group already occur ubiquitously in the environment and contaminate the ground- and untreated water due to their high mobility. In addition, some of these substances accumulate in biota and/or are suspected to be toxic.

In view of these properties, the above mentioned competent authorities for REACH are considering proposing EU-wide measures covering all PFAS (as defined under Section II. Substances) to reduce those risks.

This questionnaire is intended to provide you/the respondents with the current overview the five authorities have on the different uses of PFAS. By checking the presented data and providing feedback you/the respondents can ensure that the correct information is used for the assessment and preparation of a REACH Annex XV Restriction Dossier. Furthermore, you/the respondents can provide the authorities with currently still lacking information. EEA tonnages & emissions presented depict the European perspective, which the authorities created from the gathered information. If tonnages or emissions are challenged, please do so at European level, not at individual company level. For alternatives (and transition costs) this is slightly different and individual companies likely have valuable information.

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