European Union Contemplating Prohibiting ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Consumer Goods

January 20, 2025 TruthUSA

‘This is something that is important for us human beings, of course, but also for the environment,’ the EU’s environment chief, Jessika Roswall, said.

EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall has stated that the European Commission is contemplating the prohibition of PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” in consumer products.

PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, do not biodegrade in the environment, leading to concerns about the accumulation of these substances in ecosystems, drinking water, and the human body.

Roswall stated that while there would be exceptions for industrial use, a ban must be considered to prevent their accumulation in the ecosystem.

“This is something that is important for us human beings, of course, but also for the environment, and I believe also for the industry so they understand how to phase out PFAS,” Roswall remarked.

In December 2024, the European Environment Agency (EEA) released a report cautioning that numerous European water systems have been contaminated with PFAS.

Studies on animals suggest that PFAS might lead to cancer, liver damage, weakened immune systems, and hormonal issues in the human body.

An EU water framework directive mandates that member states monitor their rivers and lakes for chemical contamination exceeding environmental quality standards (EQS).

A study based on data collected from 1,300 monitoring sites from 2018 to 2022 found chemical contamination in 51 to 60 percent of rivers, 11 to 35 percent of lakes, and 47 to 100 percent of coastal waters surpassing the EQS limit, according to the EEA.

“The widespread presence of PFOS and potentially many other PFAS in Europe’s water is a clear challenge to the EU’s zero pollution ambition for a toxic-free environment,” the EEA highlighted. “It also compromises the EU policy target of achieving good chemical status for Europe’s water bodies by 2027 at the latest, as outlined in EU policy.”

In February 2024, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced that consumer products containing “grease-proofing material” with forever chemicals like food packaging are prohibited.

“PFAS are a varied group of thousands of chemicals that resist grease, oil, water, and heat,” stated the FDA. “The FDA has approved specific PFAS for restricted use in cookware, food packaging, and food processing equipment.”

Due to the association with serious health effects, the agency issued the ban to safeguard consumers from “potentially harmful food-contact chemicals.”

In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formally classified forever chemicals as hazardous under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, a legal provision that will hold responsible those who have contaminated the environment with these chemicals.

In October 2021, EPA Administrator Michael Regan introduced the PFAS Strategic Roadmap, which established new regulations on PFAS in community water systems.

The initiative to combat PFAS in U.S. water stems from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, which allocated $9 billion for eliminating chemicals from the water.

Multiple municipal Texas water systems were cited in April 2024 for exceeding the EPA’s limit on forever chemicals. Some local governments argued that technologies to eliminate PFAS, like carbon water filtration, would be costly.

According to a 2023 report from the American Water Works Association (AWWA), complying with the new PFAS standards would necessitate local governments to “invest over $50 billion to install and operate treatment technology over the next 20 years to adhere” and that “operational costs for individual clean water utilities” would rise by 60 percent.

AWWA noted that new technologies are not a “magic solution” for managing PFAS in water.

“The expense of remediation technologies can significantly vary depending on the contamination extent, chosen remediation method, and project scale,” AWWA emphasized.

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