European Chemicals Agency backs EU-wide PFAS ban

March 27, 2026

Read the full article by Mason Wakley (Chemistry World)

"Committees within the European Chemicals Agency (Echa) are supporting an EU-wide restriction on the production, marketing and use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This marks ‘a major step’ in dealing with these ‘forever chemicals’, with regulatory measures that are currently in place in the EU deemed insufficient to control PFAS emissions, according to a statement released by Echa.

The governments of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway sent a proposal to Echa back in January 2023 to ban the thousands of PFAS chemicals on the market, as well as on those imported into the EU. A consultation on the proposed restrictions then ran from March to September later that year.

The Risk Assessment Committee (Rac ) has now concluded that ‘PFAS pose growing risks to people and the environment’, saying that ‘an EU-wide restriction is, therefore, an effective measure to reduce these risks’."