This month there was really one major update on the roll out of the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, and that is the update on the general PFAS restriction proposal!
Updated PFAS restriction expands derogations and transitional periods for industrial PFAS uses; eight ‘new’ sectors identified not part of the current restriction
On 20 August 2025, ECHA published the updated PFAS restriction proposal, prepared by authorities from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, acting as the Dossier Submitter. The update took into account the evidence gathered from the public consultation, held in 2023.
The proposed restriction, backed by dossier submitters, is still that of a ban with use-specific, time-limited derogations. The updated restriction text maintained the general transitional period of 18 months and time-limited derogations of 5 years to 12 years (in addition to the 18 months) for specific uses, based on the availability (and prospects for future availability) of alternatives. The updated restriction also acknowledged the possibility of adding a review clause, to account for uses where alternatives are not available after 12 years, without introducing it in the proposed legal text.
The updated restriction turned many of the ‘potential derogations’ listed in the initial text into actual derogations (e.g. for electronics, refrigerants) and expanded the list of derogations for certain sectors (e.g. PPE, medical devices, industrial uses such as lubricants and solvents, semiconductors, energy infrastructure). The updated restriction also introduced derogations for second-hand articles, spare parts, articles made of recovered paper and board, textile, and plastic containing PFAS above the specified concentration limits. The updated restriction also introduced time-unlimited derogations for uses under product and process orientated research and development (PPORD), and for starting materials and intermediates used in PFAS manufacturing for derogated uses. For PFAS manufacturing, the restriction sets emission limits to water, air and soil.
In a note published on 27 August, ECHA indicated that the evaluation of the restriction proposal by the Committees would be completed in 2026, with the consultation on the SEAC draft opinion happening in the first half of 2026. The note also stated that the Committees’ opinions will not cover the eight new sectors identified and will be limited to the 14 sectors covered by the initial restriction dossier. These eight sectors were identified and assessed based on information provided in the public consultation and include printing; sealing; machinery; other medical applications; military applications; explosives; technical textiles; and broader industrial uses (e.g. solvents and catalysts). According to ECHA, including these new sectors would not be feasible in this timeline. The note however does not provide any details on how these eight sectors will be integrated into the restriction in the future.
Upcoming consultation deadlines:
- Deadline to provide feedback to the call for evidence and contribute to the public consultation on the evaluation of the Fertilising Products Regulation: 19 September 2025.
- Deadline to respond to the public consultation launched by EFSA’s Pesticide Peer Review Unit on the Draft statement on consumer health-based guidance values on trifluoroacetic acid (TFA): 22 September 2025. The consultation follows the request from the European Commission to EFSA to issue an EFSA statement and review the recommended toxicological reference values, i.e. acceptable daily intake (ADI) and acute reference dose (ARfD), for TFA.
More information of upcoming actions related to persistent and mobile substances
For more information of regulations under the regulatory watch, as well as a Gantt Chart of the roll out, continuously updated spreadsheet and more information, please visit https://zeropm.eu/regulatory-watch/