"Forever chemicals" pose a growing risk to health and the environment and should be broadly banned across the European Union, with some exceptions, EU experts said in findings published on March 26.
Officially called PFAS, the substances are a group of more than 10,000 chemicals used in things like non-stick pans, stain-proof carpets, and other common products, and often end up tainting food, water and wildlife.
Two committees of EU experts yesterday published findings that highlighted their effects and that called for broad restrictions on the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
The European Union is expected to put forward a proposal to ban PFAS, known as "forever chemicals," in everyday consumer products such as clothing and pizza boxes, with exemptions for strategic sectors, like the medical field.
A legislative proposal was initially promised for the end of 2025, but Brussels was waiting for opinions from the two committees set up by the European Chemicals Agency's (ECHA), one on the risks associated with “forever chemicals” and one evaluating the economic and social impact of a ban.
The first committee, the Risk Assessment Committee (RAC), found the chemicals posed growing risks and said that the EU needed new regulations to address them.
But the two committees differed on how far the new restrictions should go.
Scientific risk assessment experts of the RAC said a total ban on "forever chemicals' would be the most effective way to minimize their impact, saying that exemptions would cause additional "emissions, leading to an uncontrolled risk."
But, the Socio-Economic Analysis Committee (SEAC) said a blanket ban is "likely not proportionate," given the lack of alternatives to the chemicals in several fields.
