EurEau welcomes REACH restriction for PFAS in fire-fighting foams

‍The European Commission finally published the REACH restriction for the use of PFAS in fire-fighting foams by amending annex XVII of this Regulation. It will formally enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal and lead to a gradual ban of ‘forever chemicals’ in this application. The text includes transition periods of up to 10 years for certain extreme fires. This restriction is the result of years of preparatory work by ECHA, examinations by the Commission and a vote by Member States, followed by a scrutiny period for the co-legislators.

Fire-fighting foams are leading to massive contaminations of drinking water resources close to fire drill sites such as airports or military sites across Europe. In the past, this led to the exposure of consumers to high PFAS levels in their drinking water in a number of locations.

Oliver Loebel, the EurEau Secretary General states: “While we will have to live with contaminated drinking water resources for decades to come, the restriction marks an important step forward in controlling PFAS emissions at the source. We call on European decision makers to ensure that all PFAS uses are ended quickly with time-limited derogations only for essential uses for which no substitute is available.”