Regulations

Overall, legal provisions for PFAS can be found in:

• the REACH Regulation, the CLP Regulation and the Stockholm Convention for market-relevant PFAS with properties of concern, and in the EU POPs Regulation for rules on manufacture, use and waste/recycling.
• the Montreal Protocol, as well as Regulation (EU) 2024/573 and its national implementation for PFAS as greenhouse gases and CFCs.
• the European Drinking Water Directive and its national implementation for maximum concentration limits in drinking water.
• the European Water Framework Directive and its national implementation for maximum concentration limits in surface waters.

To date, regulation has primarily focused on those PFAS that have been detected at the highest concentrations in the environment and for which harmful effects have been established. However, state of knowledge about PFAS is constantly growing. From the perspective of environmental and health protection, their extreme persistence and ubiquitous occurrence are particularly problematic. Furthermore, PFAS are increasingly being linked to adverse health effects.

German authorities have therefore, together with their partners in Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, initiated an overarching procedure to restrict PFAS within the EU. The aim is to limit the use of PFAS to areas where no suitable alternatives exist for the foreseeable future, or where the socio-economic benefits outweigh the disadvantages to human health and the environment. Certain chemical sectors are partially exempt from the PFAS restriction as set out in the restriction dossier; these include, for example, pesticides and medicinal products (see also: Why are exemptions proposed in the dossier for the restriction of PFAS, e.g. for active substances in plant protection products, biocides and medicinal products?).