EU: Public consultation on the POP regulation regarding Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)

 

Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 implements the commitments of the Union under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.

Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 contains unintentional trace contaminant (UTC) limits for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and its derivatives (PFOS).

PFOS was the first per- and polyfluoroalkyl compound regulated in the Union, and the UTC limits were set a long time ago. More recently, a similar group of substances, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds, with very similar uses to PFOS, was included in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 with a much lower UTC limit. That indicates that lower levels of contamination with those chemicals are technically feasible today.

The UTC limit values for PFOS should therefore be reviewed, to bring them in line with those for PFOA, its salts and PFOA-related substances.  That’s exactly the goal of the regulation being subject to the EU public consultation available HERE.

To find out more chemical compliance and the EU Persistent Organic Pollutants regulation, please contact the Product Compliance Institute directly.