EU proposes to update PFOA requirements in POP regulations

On November 8, 2024, the European Union proposed a draft regulation, which proposed amendments to the European Union’s Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Regulation 2019/1021 on PFOA and PFOA related substances, aiming at keeping consistent with the Stockholm Convention and solving the challenges of operators in phasing out these substances in foam elimination.
The updated content of this proposal includes:
1. Including PFOA fire foam exemption extension. The exemption for foam with PFOA will be extended to December 2025, allowing more time to phase out these foam. (At present, some EU citizens believe that such a delay may be unfavorable, and may delay the transition to a safer fluoride free option, and may be replaced by other PFAS based foam.)
2. Propose the unintentional trace pollutant (UTC) limit of PFOA related substances in fire foam. The temporary UTC limit for PFOA related substances in fire foam is 10 mg/kg. (Some EU citizens currently believe that phased reductions should be introduced, such as gradually reducing UTC restrictions over three years, to minimize long-term environmental impacts; and standard methods for testing PFOA related substances should be released to ensure accurate compliance and enforcement.)
3. The cleaning procedure of fire foam system containing PFOA related substances is proposed. The proposal allows the replacement of PFOA foam in the system after cleaning, but sets a 10 mg/kg UTC limit to solve residual pollution. Some EU citizens currently believe that cleaning standards should be defined, detailed cleaning procedures should be established, and UTC limits should be lowered to further reduce pollution risks.
4. The proposal removed the UTC limit periodic review clause for PFOA related substances. Due to the lack of sufficient scientific data to support the current changes, the EU authorities have removed multiple UTC limit periodic review clauses.
The draft bill will be open for feedback for 4 weeks and will end on December 6, 2024 (midnight Brussels time).