The planetary boundary for chemical pollution has been passed and PFAS are a major contributor to this problem. The Commission shall clarify its roadmap to detox and decarbonize for a sustainable future.
The European Green Deal encompasses climate action, sustainable industry, and eliminating pollution. We owe it to future generations to ensure we are championing solutions to both the climate crisis as well as the chemical pollution crisis.
The planetary boundary for chemical pollution has been exceeded and we are now living outside the safe limits of the biological and physical processes that underpin all life. Researchers acknowledge that ‘the annual production and releases of chemicals are increasing at a pace that far outstrips the global capacity for assessment and monitoring.’1 With the global chemicals industry set to double in size by 2030, this situation will get worse because hazardous chemicals are released in large quantities and accumulate in all environmental media.2
PFAS are a large contributor to this global chemical contamination because of their widespread presence, and high persistence in the global environment. Since the 1950s, as industry increased its use of PFAS, sometimes replacing one type of PFAS for another, many thousands of tonnes of PFAS have been released into Europe’s air, waterways and soils. It is precisely the fact that all PFAS are extremely persistent or will transform into extremely persistent PFAS and remain in the environment for hundreds —if not thousands— of years, that makes this entire class of chemicals an urgent priority for restriction.
Over 17,000 sites are contaminated in Europe and 12,5 million Europeans are living in communities with drinking water polluted with PFAS. Communities such as in Veneto, Antwerp, Dordrecht, Ronneby and Korsør are fearful for the health of their children and grandchildren.3 Deterioration of drinking water sources is of high concern, because drinking water is gradually becoming less available due to the effects of global warming. PFAS is taken up from contaminated soil and water by plants, putting agricultural practices at long term risk. In Antwerp, water pollution was such that the Flemish government warned against eating self-produced eggs and vegetables in the whole of Flanders.4
Such ongoing and cumulative exposure to PFAS has resulted in measurable levels of PFAS in the blood of all citizens, including children and babies. That is why the EU Restriction on PFAS is an urgent priority for adoption because it is a workable, timely and innovative solution roadmap for the extraordinary crisis Europe faces from these ‘forever chemicals’.
Frans Timmermans, former Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for the European Green Deal adds:
Toxic forever chemicals are everywhere. They invade our environment, home-grown vegetables, fish, and our bodies, where they persist forever. Our citizens must be protected from that. We must stop all emissions of this legalized garbage. We call on Europe to fully ban the use of these chemicals. In the Netherlands, chemicals manufacturer Chemours has to stop poisoning their neighbours and the environment. If they don’t take the necessary steps, there can be no future for this company in our country.
We owe it to future generations to ensure we are championing solutions to both the climate crisis as well as the chemical pollution crisis. But the PFAS industry and some of its downstream users are stating that hydrogen fuel cells, synthetic fuels, or fuel cell vehicles would no longer be possible in Europe. Others claim that the Restriction on PFAS will eliminate the battery industry’s ability to produce lithium-ion battery cells in general, and at a large scale because there are no suitable alternatives for such substances.5 PFAS producers claim F-gases should not be restricted because they are essential to making many aspects of our society possible, including green transition, the electrification of heating, advancing new technologies, and much more6.
However European companies are already at the forefront of developing clean alternatives to F-gases and fluoropolymers. Many brands and retailers have already made great strides in and switching to safer PFAS-free materials in refrigeration, heat pumps, air conditioning, food packaging, firefighting foam, electronics, cookware, apparel, furniture and fabrics, cleaners and degreasers, and coatings.7 8 9Recent transitions to PFAS-free materials for semiconductors, 10hydrogen production 11and EV batteries 12 demonstrates the pace of change with more to come 13while it is noted that PFAS-free lithium batteries for energy storage have been in existence for over a decade. 14In Dec 2022, 3M announced they would discontinue manufacturing all fluoropolymers, fluorinated fluids, and PFAS-based additive products by the end of 2025, stating ‘they are committing to innovate toward a world less dependent upon PFAS.’ 15webinar series]
The EU Restriction on PFAS gives companies adequate time to transition to PFAS-free alternatives. Just as the climate crisis demands strong regulatory certainty and clear roadmaps to a decarbonized future, so does our chemical pollution crisis demand a regulatory certain and a clear roadmap to sustainable chemicals and low hazard materials. This roadmap is something the EU Commission should clarify how they will further implement.
Related readings
- Blueprint for a prosperous and sustainable industry
- Toxic Harvest: The rise of forever PFAS pesticides in fruit and vegetables in Europe
- How PFAS pollution affects people’s health across Europe
- F-Gases, an unprecedented case of chemical pollution
- Restricting pfas will ramp up innovation
- Beyond PFAS: The safer alternatives
- Linn Persson et al. Outside the Safe Operating Space of the Planetary Boundary for Novel Entities. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2022, 56, 3, 1510–1521. January 18, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c04158 ↩︎
- Global Chemicals Outlook II. United Nations Environment Program. https://www.unep.org/topics/chemicals-and-pollution-action/chemicals-management/global-chemicals-outlook ↩︎
- How PFAS pollution affects people’s health across Europe. HEAL. https://www.env-health.org/BanPFAS/ ↩︎
- No eating eggs from hens ‘in the whole of Flanders’ due to PFAS contamination. The Brussels Times. 7 Feb 2022. https://www.brusselstimes.com/205120/no-eating-eggs-from-hens-in-the-whole-of-flanders-due-to-pfas-contamination-from-3m-factory ↩︎
- Hundreds of companies call for EU to leave fluoropolymers out of PFAS restriction. Chemical Watch News. 09 August 2023 ↩︎
- The World Needs F-gases. Chemours. https://www.chemours.com/en/chemistry-in-action/world-needs-f-gases ↩︎
- Natural Refrigerants: State of the Industry. Commercial and Industrial Refrigeration in Europe, North America and Japan. 2022 Edition. Atmosphere. https://atmosphere.cool/marketreport-2022/ ↩︎
- PFAS-free Central. Green Science Policy Institute. https://pfascentral.org/pfas-free-products/ ↩︎
- GreenScreen Certified. https://www.greenscreenchemicals.org/certified ↩︎
- Sharma et al (2023) Safer and effective alternatives to perfluoroalkyl-based surfactants in etching solutions for the semiconductor industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 415, 137879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137879 ↩︎
- (Hydrogen production) Fraunhofer IAP, July 2023. Novel anion-conducting membranes for electrolysis. https://www.iap.fraunhofer.de/en/press_releases/2023/novel-anion-conducting-membranes-for-electrolysis.html ↩︎
- The GM-Backed Company Ridding EV Batteries of Harmful ‘Forever Chemicals’ – Nanoramic Laboratories’ CEO Eric Kish. Aug 21 2023. https://www.autofutures.tv/topics/the-gm-backed-company-ridding-ev-batteries-of-harmful–forever-chemicals—-nanoramic-laboratories–/s/89553c6d-b997-4bc5-9db9-08c2cbd09689 ↩︎
- Implementation of bio-material as sustainable binder system for PFAS free lithium-ion battery industry. Vinnova. https://www.vinnova.se/en/p/implementation-of-bio-material-as-sustainable-binder-system-for-pfas-free-lithium-ion-battery-industry/ ↩︎
- Leclanché ready for PFAS restrictions in Europe thanks to its water-based cell production. 20.10.2023. https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/leclanche-ready-for-pfas-restrictions-in-europe-thanks-to-its-water-based-cell-production/ ↩︎
- 3M to Exit PFAS Manufacturing by the End of 2025. 3M News Center. Dec. 20, 2022 https://news.3m.com/2022-12-20-3M-to-Exit-PFAS-Manufacturing-by-the-End-of-2025 ↩︎