Statement and discussions on PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances)

Below you will find the statement on the EU's PFAS restriction plan prepared by the GDCh think tank "PFAS". The opinion was submitted to the European Chemicals Agency before the end of the public consultation period.

Statement from the GDCh on the ECHA's PFAS restriction plan (September 2023)
GDCh Comments on the PFAS Restriction Proposal of ECHA (September 2023)

The opinion was prepared by the people named in the document. In addition to approval, there was also criticism from our members. Members from the fields of environmental chemistry, ecotoxicology and regulation in particular criticized this
Risk assessment of the statement, which from their point of view was essentially made from the perspective of industry and ignores the existing knowledge about the environmental and health risks associated with these compounds.

In order to transparently depict the discussion process within the GDCh, we document on these pages the letters to the editor published on the topic in Nachrichten aus der Chemie, issue 12/2023, as well as the statement of the board of the Division of Environmental Chemistry & Ecotoxicology.

Additions to the GDCh statement on ECHA's PFAS restriction proposal (December 2023)

We also point out further articles on this topic in the Nachrichten aus der Chemie. You can find these articles on the GDCh Top Topics pages under the PFAS (Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances) tab.

The GDCh welcomes scientific discussion within its membership. We will optimize the voting processes so that all relevant voices within the GDCh are heard. We explicitly accept that in some cases scientific consensus will not be reached.