The European Commission is doubling down on efforts to protect consumers from toxic PFAS chemicals in consumer textiles and other oft used and purchased products.
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New measures adopted under the EU’s REACH legislation—which aims to guard against damages to human health by regulating the use of certain chemicals—will now restrict companies from employing undecafluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) and PFHxA‑related substances.
According to the Commission, these chemicals, which are sub-groups of PFAS, are highly persistent and mobile in water, posing “an unacceptable risk to human health and the environment.”
The restriction was implemented because the risk posed by PFHxA was not being adequately controlled, and because there are alternatives available on the market that are not cost-prohibitive for brands or consumers, the government body said last week.
It will ban the sale and use of PFHxA in textile products like rain jackets, as well as food packaging, waterproofing sprays, cosmetics and some firefighting foam applications. Some sectors, like semiconductors, batteries and fuel cells for green hydrogen, will not be impacted by the ban.
Notably, PFHxA has become a common substitution for a once-popular and already-banned PFAS chemical—PFOA. Now that the measure has passed the scrutiny of the European Parliament and the Council based on a scientific assessment conducted by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Committees, the restriction will enter into force 20 days from its publication in the Official Journal. The transition period could last between 18 months and five years depending on the use of PFHxA and the availability of safer alternatives.
Over the past two decades, the EU has upped the ante when it comes to remediating PFAS contamination and pollution, implementing a comprehensive set of actions under its Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability that limit the acceptability of “forever chemicals” in consumer products. The Commission said the action taken against the use of PFHxA is separate from a potential “universal PFAS restriction” currently being mulled over by ECHA following a 2023 proposal from five European governments.
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“We are removing harmful substances from products that citizens use every day, like textiles, cosmetics and food packaging. This restriction of PFAS is a decisive step in our strategy to boost sustainability, competitiveness and innovation in the chemicals sector,” Maroš Šefčovič, executive vice president for European Green Deal, Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, said last week.
“Substituting ‘forever chemicals’ helps to keep our environment healthy, preserve our resources, and drive innovation in cleaner alternatives. The direction is clear, and businesses will have sufficient transition periods to adapt.”
The fight against forever chemicals is ramping up globally, with alarming research bringing to light the pervasive and insidious ecological and human health risks posed by the compounds.
A study published over the summer by researchers at Environment International confirmed that PFAS can permeate the skin’s barrier and enter the bloodstream. The chemicals have been linked to myriad health implications, from liver damage to cancer, lipid imbalances and cardiovascular disease.
And reporting released this spring by the Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO), a Bangladesh-based NGO and research body, and IPEN, a collective of 600 public interest groups in developing nations concerned with chemical and waste policies, showed that the country’s residents face “ significant threats ” of exposure to PFAS as a direct result of the country’s ready-made garment sector.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this year issued restrictions on PFAS in drinking water —the first time that the standards had been finalized for a new chemical since 1996. States, too, are taking the matter into their own hands, with California, Maine, Massachusetts and Minnesota having already banned the sale or distribution of PFAS-laden carpets, rugs, furniture and textiles, and the Golden State making moves to ban the chemicals’ use in apparel, handbags, footwear, upholstery, curtains, towels and bedding by 2025.
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