New directive to limit the use of fluorinated chemicals
The EU Council yesterday gave final approval to a new directive that prohibits the usage of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOs), except in a few special cases. The ban will be enforced from summer 2008. Agreement was reached on the content of the directive through close co-operation with the European Parliament and Commission. The European Parliament approved the directive in its present form at the end of October. The directive will be later transposed into the EU's forthcoming REACH chemical legislation.
PFOS compounds have been widely utilised since the 1950s in many industrial processes and consumer goods. They have been used, for instance, to make carpets, textiles, leather and paper more resistant to water and dirt, and also to improve the properties of cleaning fluids and floor-waxing products. But in the late 1990s it became clear that PFOS has been spreading through the environment on a global scale, and accumulating in the tissues of living creatures. PFOS is toxic, and highly persistent in the natural environment, since it is in practice non-degradable.
The use of PFOS compounds in consumer goods ended in Europe in the early 2000s, but they are still utilised in various industrial processes, and in fire extinguisher foams. The largest quantities are today used in metal-plating processes, which also lead to the highest emissions. PFOS compounds are still used during chromium-plating processes to prevent the dispersal of hazardous vapours containing chromium. They are also applied in certain processes in the semi-conductor industry, in photographic coatings, and in hydraulic fluids in aircraft.
The newly approved directive now prohibits the usage of PFOS compounds, except for a few specific purposes. Until further notice they may only be used in certain processes in the semiconductor industry, in photographic coating processes, as suppressants in hard chromium plating processes, as wetting agents in certain electroplating processes, and in hydraulic fluids used in aircraft. PFOS compounds may not in future be used in fire extinguishing foams supplied to customers. Foams containing PFOS compounds that have already been acquired may be kept in storage and used until summer 2012. The exception granted for chromium plating processes does not apply to decorative chromium plating.
The directive aims to end all usages of PFOS compounds as soon as possible. The European Commission will closely monitor the use of such compounds wherever the directive still permits their usage. As soon as safer alternatives are developed, the Commission will act to enforce their replacement.
The Commission is also monitoring research and risk assessments related to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and similar compounds, aiming to prepare measures to reduce the risks associated with their use where necessary.
For more information: Merja Turunen, Counsellor, Finnish Ministry of the Environment, tel. +358 9 1603 9375, [email protected]. Heikki Salonen, Senior Inspector, Finnish Environment Institute, tel. +358 400 148 642, [email protected]