PFAS statement
Our commitment to you
PPE is working tirelessly to reduce its environmental footprint and minimize any risk to human health associated with PFAS use.
We are focused on ensuring our customers can continue to enjoy uninterrupted access to high performance sealing solutions for the most critical applications, whilst contributing towards making the whole fluoropolymers production cycle more environmentally sustainable.
What is PFAS?
PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They are a family of around 10,000 chemical species, all containing carbon-fluorine bonds.
The problem with PFAS
In 2021, in Europe, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden initiated a procedure to prepare a joint restriction under the REACH Regulation. This restriction proposed banning the entire group of PFAS substances, including the manufacture of PFAS, as well as most uses and placement on the EU market.
The proposal was published in early February 2023 and is being reviewed by the European Chemicals Agency (“ECHA”): https://echa.europa.eu/it/registry-of-restriction-intentions/-/dislist/details/0b0236e18663449b.
The objective of the proposed restriction is to limit the risks to the environment and human health posed by the manufacture and use of a wide range of PFAS, even though it is widely accepted that not all PFAS chemicals have the same human health and environmental risks. In particular, fluoropolymers, such as FKM, FEPM and FFKM, can be categorized as PFAS based on their molecular structure. However, their environmental and toxicological profiles are distinctly different to the majority of other PFAS. Most fluoropolymers meet the OECD “Polymer of Low Concern” criteria (non-toxic, not bioavailable, non-water soluble and non-mobile molecules) and are deemed to have no significant environmental and human health impacts.
We strongly believe that the proposal should differentiate between the various types of PFAS on the basis of their chemical composition and toxicological profile, manufacturing method, and their particular uses. All PFAS are not the same and we therefore believe that a “one size fits all” regulation is simply too broad.
No viable alternatives
Fluoropolymers are used in many sealing applications due their unique properties, which include chemical inertness and resistance to harsh conditions, corrosion, extreme temperatures (hot and cold), and purity.
The assessment of alternative materials has shown that, when available, they frequently cannot meet the critical performance characteristics of fluorinated materials and are not safer. The use of fluoropolymers provides significant benefits along the value chain, making them critical in numerous technologies, industrial processes and everyday products.
What has happened since the publication and what happens next?
The REACH restriction proposal was open at the ECHA for a six-month public consultation that ended on September the 25th, 2023. This public consultation was intended to collect information and arguments for potential derogations / exemptions or other changes in the text and scope of the PFAS restriction proposal.
At the end of the consultation, ECHA received more than 5,600 comments from more than 4,400 organisations, companies and individuals.
Precision Polymer Engineering (PPE) participated to the ECHA consultation and also contributed comments to several industry associations that provided their input on behalf of their associated companies
The European Chemical Agency’s (ECHA) scientific committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) are currently evaluating the restriction proposal, alongside comments received during the public consultation. This evaluation is being carried out in batches, focusing on the different sectors that may be affected by a potential restriction.
At the same time, the five national authorities, who prepared the proposal, are progressively updating their initial report to address the consultation feedback. This updated report, called a Background Document, will be evaluated by the committees and will form the basis for their opinions.
The conclusions agreed at RAC and SEAC meetings are provisional until the committees finalise the evaluation of the entire restriction proposal (including all sectors of use) and adopt their opinions. These opinions will then be communicated to the public.
ECHA Recognises Sealing Applications in PFAS Restriction Process
The public consultation has also helped identify uses that were not specifically named in the initial proposal, and these are being incorporated into existing sector assessments or grouped into new sectors as needed. Examples include sealing applications, technical textiles, printing applications and other medical applications, such as packaging and excipients for pharmaceuticals.
https://echa.europa.eu/-/echa-and-five-european-countries-issue-progress-update-on-pfas-restriction
Thus, on November 20, 2024, the agency explicitly recognized for the first time sealing applications as part of the PFAS restriction process.
For more info: https://www.europeansealing.com/pfas-restriction-update-5/
This update is a promising development for the sealing industry. The recognition of sealing applications validates their importance in countless critical systems and offers an opportunity for the industry to collaborate closely with regulators to ensure balanced, practical policies.
What is Precision Polymer Engineering doing about it?
Some of the FKM materials that Precision Polymer Engineering has been supplying to its customer base for several years are based on special types of FKM polymers, which to date have been manufactured by different fluoropolymer suppliers with the use of fluorosurfactants – a type of non-polymeric PFAS used as a process aid.
These fluorosurfactants have been under regulatory scrutiny across the globe over the past years, due to their presumed toxic effects on humans, in combination with their potential to bioaccumulate, to be persistent and mobile in the environment.
To address the above, in September 2023 the Fluoropolymers Product Group (FPG) announced the launch of a Manufacturing Programme for European Manufacturing sites:
The programme is comprised of three pillars:
- A voluntary commitment to reduce non-polymeric PFAS emissions from fluoropolymer manufacturing
- A platform to promote the adoption of commercially available state of the art technologies to minimise non-polymeric PFAS emissions in fluoropolymer manufacturing
- A commitment to inform downstream users of fluoropolymers on their safe handling and use
This programme includes a concrete commitment to minimize emissions of fluorosurfactants to the environment from fluoropolymer manufacturing by the different FPG member companies.
In the frame of this programme, some fluoropolymer suppliers recently announced the launch of alternative manufacturing processes that do not require the use of fluorosurfactants any more.
This marks a breakthrough in FKM offering
We at PPE support enhanced responsible fluoropolymer manufacturing practices, and have been working in collaboration with the same suppliers to validate this new technology with the ultimate goal of evaluating and implementing it for our material offering.
As we evaluate the transition of our FKM portfolio, timelines will vary for each material depending on factors such as suppliers release schedules, development status and inventory levels. To learn more about our approach and ongoing efforts, visit our PFAS Sustainability Program.
Any questions?
If you’d like to find out more about PFAS, and the steps we’re taking to safeguard your customers, we’d be happy to speak to you.
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