Want PFAS banned in the EU

Denmark and four other countries want a ban on PFAS in the EU.

Action must be taken now in the EU to prevent pollution from the harmful PFAS substances that are continuously emerging in new places around society.

This is the view of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, which on Friday sent a joint draft of an EU ban on PFAS substances in a number of areas to the EU Chemicals Agency. It is the most comprehensive draft EU ban on the restriction of chemicals ever.

The proposal comes after authorities in the five countries have been investigating the extent of PFAS pollution since 2020 and the impact it can have on people’s health and the environment.

PFAS includes a large group of synthetically produced fluorinated substances that have been used since the 1950s in e.g. food packaging, firefighting foam, surface treatment and impregnation of textiles, carpets and in paint.

– “You should not imagine that PFAS will be easy to get rid of, because it is used in many places. We are dealing with a very wide-ranging problem, the extent and seriousness of which we are only now beginning to know. But a common EU ban is an important step. This is one of the initiatives needed to contain and eventually eliminate the sources of pollution, so that we can safely drink our water and eat our meat,” says Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke.

The draft will be presented in Brussels on February 7. Here, professionals from the five countries will hold a technical review of what the ban contains. In the period leading up to its presentation on February 7, the EU Chemicals Agency reviews the draft to ensure that it meets the relevant requirements for an EU ban.