EU Consults on Proposed Restriction of PFHxS under POPs Regulation

On February 9, 2023, European Union published an initiative to consult on restriction of perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and related compounds under Regulation (EU) 2019/1021. Comments are welcome until March 9, 2023.

The initiative amends Annex I to the Regulation to include PFHxS, its salts and related compounds as substances that are subject to certain restrictions. These substances are expected to be listed under the Stockholm Convention by the end of 2022.

The proposed restricted conditions are as follows:

Substance	CAS No	EC No	Limit value
Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and PFHxSrelated compounds	355-46-4 and others	206-587-1 and others	≦ 0.025 mg/kg for PFHxS including its salts ≦ 1mg/kg for the individual PFHxS-related compounds or a combination of those compounds ≦ 0.1 mg/kg for the use in firefighting foams (This exemption shall be reviewed and assess by the Commission no later than 3 years after this amendment takes effect)

Background

Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 implements the EU's international commitments under the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants. The regulation was adopted on June 20, 2019, and it replaces the previous EU regulation on POPs, Regulation (EC) No 850/2004. It sets out a list of 33 POPs that are subject to strict control measures, with some exemptions for specific uses. It also includes provisions for monitoring, reporting, and enforcement to ensure compliance with the restrictions on POPs.

In September of 2022, the Regulation was amended to adjust the exemption conditions for hexachlorobenzene.

The Draft delegated regulation and Annex can be accessed here.