SG 164/23
The European Commission has initiated a four-week consultation over its draft regulation to amend the language and specifications for PFOS under the POP Recast Regulation. Comments are being accepted until January 1, 2024.
Since the publication of Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 on persistent organic pollutants (the POP Recast Regulation), the European Union (EU) has amended Part A to Annex I on several occasions. Among the changes are the inclusion of perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and PFHxS-related compounds, and new unintentional trace contaminant (UTC) limit values for hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and pentachlorophenol (PCP), its salts and esters (consolidated version to August 2023).
On December 4, 2023, the European Commission (EC) website announced a consultation on a draft regulation to revise several provisions for perfluorooactane sulfonic acid and its derivatives (PFOS) under the POP Recast Regulation. It:
- Aligns the language for substance identification for PFOS and its derivatives with those for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
- Introduces a UTC limit value for PFOS and its salts for consistency with PFOA
- Strengthens the UTC limit level for PFOS-related compounds in substances, mixtures and articles
- Deletes point 4 in relation to the specific exemption for the use of PFOS and its derivatives as a mist suppressant for non-decorative hard-chromium plating due to alternative substitutes
- Removes point 5 in relation to analytical standards
Highlights of the aforementioned first three points in the draft regulation are summarized in Table 1.
| Part A to Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 | Draft Regulation to amend Part A to Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Substance | Perfluorooactane sulfonic acid and its derivatives (PFOS) | Perfluorooactane sulfonic acid (PFOS), its salts and PFOS-related compounds |
| Specific exemption on intermediate use or other specification point 1 | ≤ 10 mg/kg PFOS as UTC in substances or mixtures | ≤ 0.025 mg/kg PFOS or any of its salts as UTC in substances, mixtures or articles |
| Specific exemption on intermediate use or other specification point 2 | < 0.1% PFOS as UTC in semi-finished products, articles or parts thereof or, < 1 µg/m² PFOS of the coated material in textiles or other coated materials | ≤ 1 mg/kg sum of all PFOS-related compounds as UTC in substances, mixtures or articles |
| Effective date | In force | 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the EU (planned for adoption in Q1 of 2024) |
Table 1
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