There has been a major update to the EU's control over PFOA

Update on new PFOA Regulation:

On 15 June 2020, the EU DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) in its Official Journal of the European Union, and amended Annex I to the Persistent Organic Pollutants (EU) REGULATION 2020/784.Additional requirements for Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOa-related compounds are introduced in member States of the EU starting from 4 July 2020.Meanwhile, according to this regulation, the EU is planning to remove the existing restrictions on PFOA in REACH regulation, which means that REACH regulation will no longer control PFOA, while POPs regulation will control PFOA.

It is understood that the revision is aimed at increasing exemptions for THE use of PFOA in pharmaceutical production and at harmonizing the EU POPs regulations with the Stockholm Convention on the control of POPs.

PFOA USES:

PFOA and its salts and PFOA-related substances have certain properties, such as high frictional resistance, insulation, heat and chemical resistance, and low surface energy.These chemicals have a wide range of USES, such as in the production of textiles and paper to provide water-proof, oil-proof and anti-fouling properties, and as surfactants in fire-fighting foams.In 2013, PFOA was identified as persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) and added to the candidate list of Substances of High Concern (SVHC).

Introduction to EU POPs regulations

Due to the chemical nature of POPs and its far-reaching toxicological effects, the control of these substances requires collaboration among countries.At present, the international community has negotiated and concluded two legally binding international instruments:

The Ece Regional Protocol on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution of Persistent Organic Pollutants (CLRTAP), which entered into force on 23 October 2003;

The Stockholm Global Persistent Organic Pollutants Convention entered into force on 17 May 2004.

The EU signed the two international instruments with the then 15 member States and ratified the Protocol on 30 April 2004 and the Stockholm Convention on 16 November 2004.In order to implement these two international agreements, the EU published the first edition of POPs Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 on 29 April 2004, which is consistent with and to some extent goes further than the international agreements.Since then, the EU has made several amendments to this Regulation, and published the second edition of POPs Regulation (EU) 2020/1021 on June 20, 2019.

GST reminds relevant enterprises to pay attention to the environmental protection regulations in eu and other countries to meet the latest legal requirements and avoid legal disputes. You can also follow our WeChat public account, and we will update the regulations in the first time.GST has a professional technical team that can track the latest developments of regulations and standards and help you develop the most comprehensive and economical compliance plan.If you have any questions about REACH or other product compliance, please feel free to contact us.

The original regulations link: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2020/784/oj

Previous message on PFAS: The European Union has imposed extensive restrictions on the collection of evidence for PFAS