Industry scientists say there’s no need to control PFAS as a class

Abstract

The number of commercial per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that need screening for possible regulation number in the hundreds, not thousands, industrial chemists say ( Integr. Environ. Assess. Manage. 2021, DOI: 10.1002/ieam.4450 ). Their analysis counters a policy proposal in the European Union to restrict production and use of most PFAS—persistent synthetic chemicals designed to resist degradation—as a single class. Exposure to PFAS that are metabolically active is linked to cancer, immune system and developmental problems, and other health effects . “It’s not scientifically accurate or appropriate to base regulation on a false premise, which is what some authorities are proposing to do by saying that the number of PFAS is so high that it’s impossible to distinguish among them,” says lead author Robert Buck, a technical fellow at Chemours. Buck’s team examined the 4,730 PFAS listed in a 2018 report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).