No booking required. Please log in on Zoom on 31 October 2024 at 7.00pm
https://eu01web.zoom.us/j/64797138617?pwd=P5z2qqftjYUR0bby5ztQKblYIb8hZM.1
Members of the RSC should already be aware of its campaign for a reduction in the permissible levels of PFAS substances in UK drinking water. The Guardian newspaper also regularly publishes articles on PFAS (also dubbed “Forever Chemicals”), and the topic has now reached the BBC (CountryFile, Aug 18th 2024). The matter first came to notoriety in the USA, where substantial pollution occurred around manufacturing plants there (see film “Dark Waters”), and is also found widely in Europe. The use of certain PFAS compounds in fire-fighting foams has also created a legacy of groundwater pollution in the vicinity of airfields, both civil and military, and past legislation for individual compounds is perceived as being cynically evaded by “regrettable” substitutions.
In consequence, a proposal for a complete ban on manufacture, use, or distribution of most PFAS was made under EU REACH regulations. This went to public consultation in 2023, and the responses are now under active consideration in the committee stages of the ECHA process. It needs to be understood that this proposal is not for individual substances, but the entire class, based upon an OECD definition which is estimated to cover some 10,000 to 16,000 substances.
Most significantly this includes polymers such as PTFE, PVDF, PFA, Viton etc, although limited derogations have been proposed for PFAS as essential component parts of (eg) medicines and medical devices. It needs to be realised that whilst in terms of quantities, the most substantial use of PFAS materials has been in the consumer markets (Non-stick coatings, stainproof fabric & carpet treatments etc), over their ca 70-year life the PFAS polymers have become an indispensable part of many industries, in which they are used because they are “best in class” for their purpose.
The impact within European industry (including UK) of loss of access is almost incalculable, examples including Electronics, Engineering, Automotive, Basic & Fine Chemicals, Lithium batteries & Green Hydrogen, Pharma and Biopharma.
This talk will aim to give a briefing on the background, the EU and UK processes now underway, the potential impacts, and how we may still be able to influence the outcome.
https://eu01web.zoom.us/j/64797138617?pwd=P5z2qqftjYUR0bby5ztQKblYIb8hZM.1
Members of the RSC should already be aware of its campaign for a reduction in the permissible levels of PFAS substances in UK drinking water. The Guardian newspaper also regularly publishes articles on PFAS (also dubbed “Forever Chemicals”), and the topic has now reached the BBC (CountryFile, Aug 18th 2024). The matter first came to notoriety in the USA, where substantial pollution occurred around manufacturing plants there (see film “Dark Waters”), and is also found widely in Europe. The use of certain PFAS compounds in fire-fighting foams has also created a legacy of groundwater pollution in the vicinity of airfields, both civil and military, and past legislation for individual compounds is perceived as being cynically evaded by “regrettable” substitutions.
In consequence, a proposal for a complete ban on manufacture, use, or distribution of most PFAS was made under EU REACH regulations. This went to public consultation in 2023, and the responses are now under active consideration in the committee stages of the ECHA process. It needs to be understood that this proposal is not for individual substances, but the entire class, based upon an OECD definition which is estimated to cover some 10,000 to 16,000 substances.
Most significantly this includes polymers such as PTFE, PVDF, PFA, Viton etc, although limited derogations have been proposed for PFAS as essential component parts of (eg) medicines and medical devices. It needs to be realised that whilst in terms of quantities, the most substantial use of PFAS materials has been in the consumer markets (Non-stick coatings, stainproof fabric & carpet treatments etc), over their ca 70-year life the PFAS polymers have become an indispensable part of many industries, in which they are used because they are “best in class” for their purpose.
The impact within European industry (including UK) of loss of access is almost incalculable, examples including Electronics, Engineering, Automotive, Basic & Fine Chemicals, Lithium batteries & Green Hydrogen, Pharma and Biopharma.
This talk will aim to give a briefing on the background, the EU and UK processes now underway, the potential impacts, and how we may still be able to influence the outcome.
