The Forever Lobbying Project has estimated cleaning up PFAS contamination in Europe will cost $2trn over 20 years, or $100bn annually.
Manufactured by a handful of companies, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) is a family of over 10,000 man-made chemicals. Almost indestructible without human intervention and persistent in living organisms, humans included, PFAS have been linked to illnesses.
In February 2023, five European countries proposed a PFAS universal restriction under the EU chemical regulation REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals). The ban would include the entire PFAS chemical ‘universe’, with some derogations until alternatives are developed; their pervasive nature means traces have been found in every corner of the globe, from Arctic sheets to Mount Everest.
Last September, the EU adopted new measures, restricting the use of undecafluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) and PFHxA‑related substances – though it does not affect certain applications, for example semiconductors, batteries or fuel cells for green hydrogen.
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