New Regulations in North America and Europe Increase Restrictions on More PFAS Compounds

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the class of compounds dubbed “forever chemicals” due to their widespread presence and persistence in the environment, have been one of the most discussed classes of chemical pollutants in recent years. Exposure to PFAS has been associated with adverse health effects in humans, and regulatory agencies worldwide have been reviewing and implementing limits and/or bans to reduce the amount of new PFAS entering the environment, as well as human exposure for existing PFAS contamination.

Previous actions have focused on reviewing regulations on a per-compound basis, but recently the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) received a proposal from Germany, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden to restrict PFAS as an entire class under the European Union’s chemicals regulation, REACH.¹ Another recent move to reduce PFAS in the environment comes from a major manufacturer of the compounds, 3M, which has announced it will cease PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025.² Industrial pollution from PFAS manufacturers has been one of the main sources of environmental contamination.³ Most recently, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six PFAS, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA, or “GenX”), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), and perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS).⁴

CIL continues to add to its line of stable isotope-labeled and native PFAS standards, featuring offerings in many PFAS subclasses as well as various mixtures including options to support US EPA Methods 537, 537.1, and 8327. CIL has also recently been focused on developing short-chain PFAS standards, including TFA, PFPrA, and PFBS, due to growing concern of their presence in the environment.