EU considers banning “eternal chemicals”, calls for alternatives | – #considers #banning #eternal #chemicals #calls #alternatives
February 7 (Reuters) – Tuesday European Unionbegan considering a proposal to ban widely used, potentially harmful substances known as PFAS, or “permanent chemicals,” in what could become the bloc’s broadest regulation of the chemical industry.
Because chemicals are resistant to extreme temperatures and corrosion for a long time, they are used in cars, textiles, medical used in tens of thousands of products, including appliances, windmills, and nonstick pans.
But PFAS are also linked to health risks such as cancer, hormonal dysfunction and a weakened immune system, as well as environmental damage.
Offer The five countries cooperating on it – Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and non-EU Norway – said in a joint statement on Tuesday that, if adopted, it would be “one of the largest bans on chemicals ever. always in Europe”.
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“A ban on PFAS will reduce the amount of PFAS in the environment over the long term. It will also make products and processes safer for people,” they said.
After the ban goes into effect, the project proposal, depending on the availability of alternatives, will be affected 10Companies will be given between 18 months and 12 years to provide alternatives to more than ,000 PFASs.
Europe PFAS producers and users forming a lobby subgroup under CEFIC, the chemical manufacturers’ association, include BASF ( BASFn.DE ), 3M ( MMM.N ), Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ), Solvay ( SOLB.BR ), Merck KGaA ( MRCG.DE and Teflon maker Chemours ( CC.N ).
“In many cases such alternatives do not currently exist and in some they never will,” the five countries said in a statement urging companies to work on substitutes.
Waterproofing agents for textiles, for example, with paraffin wax substitute is among the easiest means to do, but some medical there is no substitute for use in devices such as pacemakers, the dossier showed.
The nickname “eternal chemicals” comes from their ability to accumulate in water and soil because they do not break down due to an extremely strong bond between carbon and fluorine atoms.
Speaking at a media briefing in Brussels, Audun Heggelund of the Norwegian Environment Agency said they could already be detected all over the world.
“You can find PFAS in penguins in the Antarctic, polar bears in the Arctic, even rainwater in Tibet,” he said.
FPP4EU, a group of 14 companies that produce and use PFAS, said the restrictions would have a “major impact” on many products for everyday use, and the association would highlight the need for certain exemptions in public consultations.
“FPP4EU’s main concern is that the cap proposal could still disrupt certain value chains and ultimately eliminate some key applications,” said FPP4EU Advocacy and Communications Chair Jonathan Crozier.
The dossier showed that a number of pharmaceuticals, animal health products, plant protection chemicals and disinfectants were already subject to even stricter existing regulatory regimes from the so-called exemptions. free will or will benefit.
DIFFICULT PROCESS
The countries that submitted the dossier said that after the ban, the build-up in the environment will continue for many years, as waste products will continue to shed molecules.
On consumer protection national of agencies Europe “We call on the EU to act on this restriction as soon as possible,” its association, BEUC, said in a statement.
Risk Assessment within the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and Social-Two scientific Economic Analysis committees will now consider whether the proposal is compatible with the wider EU regulation of chemicals, known as REACH, followed by a scientific assessment and consultation with industry.
ECHA said the two committees may take longer than the usual 12 months to complete the assessment.
After that, the European Commission and EU member states will decide on the final version, which could enter into force in 2026 or 2027, according to the dossier.
Initiatives to limit PFAS are also ongoing in other regions. In August, the United States government USA Designation of certain permanent chemicals as hazardous substances under the Superfund program offer he said he would.
Among corporate initiatives USAUS industrial conglomerate 3M Co ( MMM.N ) in December set a 2025 deadline to end their production.
In December, investors who manage $8 trillion in assets wrote to 54 companies urging them to phase out their use.
According to the project, 52-84% of the total annual health costs related to PFAS exposure in Europe billion euro (55.72 billion dollars-90.01 billion dollars) was estimated to be
($1 = 0.9332 euros)
Report by Ludwig Burger; Edited by Susan Fenton and Christina Fincher
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
2023-02-08 14:13:41
Source – reuters
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