PFAS consultation receives over 5,600 comments

FINLAND: The European proposals to restrict the use of PFAS chemicals have received more than 5,600 comments from more than 4,400 organisations, companies and individuals.

The comments received by the Helsinki-based European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) during the six-month consultation period, which ended yesterday, will now be checked by ECHA’s scientific committees for risk assessment and socio-economic analysis. The ECHA says that only those providing relevant evidence-based information will be considered in the opinion making process.

The five countries who prepared the initial proposal – Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Denmark – will also review the consultation input and may update their initial proposal based on it.

The original proposal, which was submitted to the ECHA on 13 January, seeks a ban on PFAS substances under a definition that would include practically all HFC and HFO refrigerants, as well as the fluoropolymers used in a number of critical refrigeration components. These components include vital gaskets and other sealing systems, electrical and electronic components, and wear-resistant coatings. 

Next steps

Following evaluation, the ECHA committees will develop their independent, scientific opinions over a series of meetings, where draft opinions are discussed. The ECHA insists that attention will be given to all aspects and impacted sectors.

The ECHA says it will deliver the final opinions to the European Commission “in the shortest possible timeframe, while ensuring proper scrutiny by the scientific committees”. 

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