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On June 27, 2025, the European Commission published the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/718 of 14 April 2025 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and its derivatives in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This regulation amends certain provisions for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and its derivatives (PFOS) under EU's POPs legislation, including the introduction of stricter unintentional trace contaminant (UTC) limit values for PFOS and abolishing specific exemptions for PFOS.
UTC Limits
The amended UTC limits for PFOS align with another group of PFAS - perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds, which were included in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 with a much lower UTC limit value. This indicates the feasibility to regulate these contaminants at a lower level. Therefore, the UTC limit value for PFOS is amended as follows:
≤0,025 mg/kg (0,0000025 % by weight) of PFOS or any of its salts present as UTC in substances, mixtures or articles;
≤1mg/kg (0.0001% by weight) for the sum of concentration of all PFOS-related compounds present as UTC in substances, mixtures or articles.
To fully align with the entries on PFOS and PFOA, the wording of the first column of the entry on PFOS is modified to "Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), its salts and PFOS-related compounds".
Specific Exemptions
The amendment abolishes the exemption for the use of PFOS as mist suppressant for non-decorative hard chromium (VI) plating. The information collected at Member State level on the substances used as mist-suppressants in hard chromium plating confirms that PFOS has been substituted for that use in the Union.
In addition, the entry on PFOS regarding the availability of analytical methods is also deleted.
Summary
In summary, the entry "Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and its derivatives (PFOS)" in Annex I, Part A, of the POPs Regulation is amended as follows:
| Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 | Amendment | Effective date | |
| Substance identification | Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and its derivatives (PFOS) C8F17SO2X (X = OH, Metal salt (O-M+), halide, amide, and other derivatives including polymers) | Perfluroctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), its salts and PFOS-related compounds C8F17SO2X (X = OH, Metal salt (O-M+ ), halide, amide, and other related compounds including polymers) | July 17, 2025 |
Specific exemption on intermediate use or other specification | Point 1: ≤10 mg/kg (0,001 % by weight) of PFOS as UTC in substances or mixtures | Point 1: ≤0,025 mg/kg (0,0000025 % by weight) of PFOS or any of its salts as UTC in substances, mixtures or articles | December 3, 2025 |
| Point 2:<0.1% by weight (calculated with reference to the mass of structurally or micro-structurally distinct parts that contain PFOS) of PFOS as UTC in semi-finished products or articles, or parts thereof, or 1 μg/m2 for the amount of PFOS as UTC in the coated material | Point 2: ≤1mg/kg (0.0001% by weight) for the sum of concentration of all PFOS-related compounds as UTC in substances, mixtures or articles | December 3, 2025 | |
| Point 3 | Unchanged | July 17, 2025 | |
| Point 4 | Deleted | July 17, 2025 | |
| Point 5 | Deleted | July 17, 2025 |
The provisions for UTC limits shall take effect on December 3, 2025. Other changes will be enforced on July 17, 2025.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/718 can be accessed here.
