ECHA pub­lishes updated PFAS restric­tion proposal

Hel­sinki, 20 August 2025 – The five author­it­ies, act­ing as the Dossier Sub­mit­ter, have com­pleted their eval­u­ation of the more than 5 600 sci­entif­ic and tech­nic­al com­ments received from third parties dur­ing the 2023 con­sulta­tion. Based on the evid­ence gathered, they have updated their ini­tial restric­tion pro­pos­al. This updated report, called the Back­ground Doc­u­ment, forms the basis for ECHA’s com­mit­tees’ opin­ions. This doc­u­ment may still be updated fur­ther, based on the eval­u­ation of the committees.

The five author­it­ies have, among oth­er things, iden­ti­fied and car­ried out assess­ments for eight sec­tors that were not spe­cific­ally named in the ini­tial pro­pos­al. These sec­tors are:

• print­ing applications;
• seal­ing applications;
• machinery applic­a­tions;
• oth­er med­ic­al applic­a­tions, such as imme­di­ate pack­aging and excipi­ents for pharmaceuticals;
• mil­it­ary applications;
• explos­ives;
• tech­nic­al tex­tiles; and
• broad­er indus­tri­al uses, such as solvents and catalysts.

In addi­tion, they have con­sidered altern­at­ive restric­tion options, bey­ond a full ban or a ban with time-lim­ited derog­a­tions for cer­tain applic­a­tions. These options involve con­di­tions allow­ing the con­tin­ued man­u­fac­ture, pla­cing on the mar­ket or use of PFAS where the risks can be con­trolled. These altern­at­ive options have been assessed by the Dossier Sub­mit­ter for:

• PFAS man­u­fac­tur­ing;
• trans­port;
• elec­tron­ics and semiconductors;
• energy;
• seal­ing applications;
• machinery applic­a­tions; and
• tech­nic­al textiles.

ECHA’s sci­entif­ic com­mit­tees for Risk Assess­ment (RAC) and for Socio-Eco­nom­ic Ana­lys­is (SEAC) con­tin­ue to eval­u­ate the pro­posed restric­tion. The Agency aims to provide the European Com­mis­sion with a trans­par­ent, inde­pend­ent, and high-qual­ity RAC and SEAC opin­ion as soon as possible.

The European Com­mis­sion will ulti­mately decide on the restric­tion in con­sulta­tion with the EU Mem­ber States.

Back­ground

The pro­pos­al to restrict PFAS in the EU/EEA was pre­pared by author­it­ies in Den­mark, Ger­many, the Neth­er­lands, Nor­way and Sweden. It was sub­mit­ted to ECHA on 13 Janu­ary 2023. It aims to reduce PFAS emis­sions into the envir­on­ment and make products and pro­cesses safer for people. The six-month con­sulta­tion ran from 22 March to 25 Septem­ber 2023.

Cur­rently, ECHA’s sci­entif­ic com­mit­tees, com­prised of inde­pend­ent experts from EU Mem­ber States, are eval­u­at­ing the proposal.