New Regulations on PFOA Control Update:

On June 15, 2020, the European Union published the new REGULATION COMMISSION DELEGATED Regulation (EU) 2020/784 in its Official Journal of the European Union. Annex I of the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 has been revised. New restrictions on Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds have been added. All member states of the European Union are required to implement this regulation from July 4, 2020. At the same time, in accordance with this regulation, the EU is planning to remove the existing restrictions on PFOA in the REACH regulation, which means that the REACH regulation will no longer control PFOA, while the POPs regulation will control PFOA.

It is learned that this revision is aimed at, on the one hand, increasing the exemption for the use of PFOA in drug production, and on the other hand, coordinating the control requirements for POPs under the EU POPs regulations and the Stockholm Convention.

Uses of PFOA:

PFOA and its salts, as well as PFOA-related substances, possess certain specific properties, such as high frictional resistance, insulation, heat resistance, chemical resistance, and low surface energy. This type of chemical substance has a wide range of applications. For instance, it is used in the production of textiles and paper to provide water resistance, oil resistance and stain resistance, and serves as a surfactant in fire-fighting foams. In 2013, PFOA was identified as a persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substance (PBT) and was added to the candidate list of substances of very high concern (SVHC).

Introduction to the EU POPs Regulations

Due to the chemical properties and far-reaching toxicological effects of POPs, the control of these substances requires the collaboration of various countries. At present, the international community has held many negotiations and concluded two legally binding international instruments:

The Protocol on Long-Distance Transboundary Air Pollution from Persistent Organic Pollutants in the ECE Region (CLRTAP) entered into force on 23 October 2003;

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants came into effect on May 17, 2004.

The European Union signed these two international instruments with the 15 member states at that time, and ratified the Protocol on April 30, 2004 and the Stockholm Convention on November 16, 2004. In order to implement these two international agreements, the European Union issued the first version of the POPs Regulation Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 on April 29, 2004. This regulation is consistent with the provisions of the two international agreements and, to a certain extent, goes further than the international agreements. Since then, the European Union has made several revisions to this Regulation and released the second version of the POPs Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, on June 20, 2019.

Huanren reminds relevant enterprises to pay attention to the environmental protection regulations of the European Union and other countries to comply with the latest legal requirements and avoid legal disputes. You can also follow our wechat official account, and we will update the regulations of various countries in the first place. Huanren has a professional technical team that can track the latest developments of regulations and standards for you and help you formulate the most comprehensive and economical compliance plan. If you have any questions regarding the REACH regulation or other product compliance issues, please feel free to contact us.