EC: New Requirements for 'PFAS' Subgroup adopted

In September, the European Commission announced the newly adopted restrictions for 'PFHxA' (undecafluorohexanoic acid), its salts and PFHxA-related substances and published them on its website. The new regulations are reported here both in a communication and in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It explains that the restriction of 'PFHxA' and its related substances, which are a subgroup of 'PFAS', relates to the following points:

• Applications where the risk is not adequately controlled, 
• Applications for which alternatives are available, and 
• Where the socio-economic costs are limited compared to the benefits to human health and the environment.

Examples of these are listed below:

• Use of 'PFHxA' in consumer textiles (e.g. rain jackets), 
• food packaging (e.g. pizza boxes), ' 
• Mixtures for consumers (e.g. waterproofing sprays), 
• cosmetics (e.g. skin care products) and 
• in some applications of fire-fighting foams (e.g. for training and testing), provided that this does not jeopardise safety.

Further information on the restriction of the use of 'PFHxA' and related substances can be found on the website of the European Commission.