An overview of PFAS legislation

Describing how the use of these substances is being legally controlled.

In recent years, there has been growing interest concerning the accumulation of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment, which has driven rapid changes in how these substances are regulated.

What are PFAS?

PFAS are defined as ‘molecules that contain at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom’. This is a very broad definition, and so there are thousands of substances in the PFAS ‘family’.

This diversity and the unique chemical properties of PFAS make them very useful for a wide range of applications, including firefighting foams, coatings of textiles and leathers for protective garments, non-stick domestic cookware and medical devices. However, there are growing concerns about the reliance on the use of PFAS in these industries. PFAS are highly resistant to degradation, meaning that they persist for a long period of time within the environment. Several PFAS are also known to be harmful to humans, as they are carcinogenic or toxic to reproduction, and scientists do not yet fully understand the potential effects that continued exposure could have upon human health or our planet.

European PFAS restrictions

Within the European Union (EU), hazardous substances are managed through regulations such as REACH Regulation (EC) 1907/2006, which is overseen by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). REACH Annex XVII entry 68 imposes restrictions upon a group of substances within the PFAS family, collectively known as ‘C9 to C14 perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs)’. The restriction prohibits the placing on the market of these substances on their own, or as constituents of substances, mixtures or consumer articles above certain concentrations (summarised in table 1).

In September 2024, Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/2462 was published, which added undecafluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) as entry 79 of REACH Annex XVII. This restriction will apply to consumer goods from 10^th October 2026 and, among other things, will specifically apply to footwear for the general public, and textiles and leather in clothing.

The scope of the restrictions on PFAS within the UK is much narrower than those of the EU, as changes made to REACH following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU have not been implemented under the UK REACH (UK REACH Statutory Instruments 2020 No. 1577). Only perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and related substances are included in UK REACH. Companies which operate in both regions will need to be aware of these differences and ensure that they are compliant with both regulations.

In addition to REACH and UK REACH, PFAS are also included in the requirements of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 (POPs). This imposes restrictions upon three specific PFAS chemicals: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), and perfluorohexane-1-sulphonic acid (PFHxS). This applies within the EU and UK, and companies must ensure that they are compliant with these in addition to the REACH and UK REACH restrictions in order to fulfil their legal obligations.

Table 1: Requirements for these substances
Legislation	PFAS chemicals	Permitted amount
REACH Annex XVII entry 68	C9 to C14 – PFCAs and PFCA-related substances	< 25 ppb sum of C9 to C14 PFCAs and their salts < 260 ppb sum of C9 to C14 PFCA-related substances
REACH Annex XVII entry 79*	Undecafluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), its salts and related substances	< 25 ppb sum of PFHxA and its salts < 1,000 ppb sum of PFHxA-related substances
UK REACH Annex XVII entry 68	Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)	< 25 ppb of PFOA and its salts < 1,000 ppb of PFOA-related substances
Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulation	Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)	< 25 ppb of PFOA and its salts < 1,000 ppb of PFOA-related substances
	Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)	< 1 μg/m2 in coated textiles < 1,000 ppm in all other articles
	Perfluorohexane-1-sulphonic acid (PFHxS)	< 25 ppb of PFHxS and its salts < 1,000 ppb of PFHxS-related substances
California Proposition 65	Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)	Warning label required if present at a detectable level
California AB 1817	Total organic fluorine	< 100 ppm from January 2025 < 50 ppm from January 2027
*Applies from 10th October 2026 and is specific to: textiles, leather, furs and hides in clothing and related accessories for the general public footwear for the general public paper and cardboard used as food contact materials mixtures for the general public cosmetic products.

PFAS restrictions within the USA

Unlike in the EU, there is no one agency responsible for overseeing chemical legislation in the USA. The responsibility lies with a number of different agencies and restrictions vary across different states.

Two of the most prominent pieces of US legislation relating to PFAS have been enacted in the state of California. The first is ‘California Proposition 65’, which currently lists over 900 substances known to be carcinogenic or toxic to reproduction, including three PFAS chemicals (PFOA, PFOS and PFNA). Crucially, the inclusion of these substances on the California Proposition 65 list does not prohibit products containing them from being placed onto the market. However, it does mean that any such products must bear a warning label.

The other key piece of legislation relating to PFAS within the US is ‘California Assembly Bill 1817’ (AB 1817). This aims to phase out the use of PFAS and replace them with alternatives which are less damaging to the environment. Unlike current European legislation, AB 1817 does not impose restrictions on specific PFAS chemicals, but rather stipulates requirements for the amount of total organic fluorine. In this manner, the bill effectively encompasses all potential PFAS substances.

This legislation applies to all textiles and textile articles, defined as ‘any item made in whole or part from a natural, man-made or synthetic fibre, yarn or fabric, and includes, but is not limited to, leather, cotton, silk, jute, hemp, wool, viscose, nylon, or polyester’.

The restriction came into force from January 2025, and prohibits the placing on the market of articles which contain more than 100 ppm of total organic fluorine. This limit will reduce to 50 ppm from January 2027. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is exempt from the requirements of AB 1817, although suppliers of such items must make buyers aware of any PFAS chemicals present in their products.

Future PFAS restrictions

There has been a proposal by five EU member states to expand the scope of the current restrictions within entry 68 of REACH Annex XVII to apply to all substances containing a fully fluorinated carbon atom. This would essentially prohibit the use of all PFAS.

Such action is intended to avoid ‘regrettable substitutions’ of alternative PFAS chemicals that are allegedly less harmful, but which could still have detrimental effects on the environment. This would bring the EU restrictions more into line with those of AB 1817, which has an effective ban on all PFAS substances through its prohibition on total organic fluorine. The restriction proposal is currently under review by ECHA’s scientific committees, and the proposed timeline for completing this evaluation is the end of 2026.

Beyond this European-wide goal, individual nations have begun to enact their own legislations upon the use of PFAS, which will apply in addition to any regulations introduced into the EU as a whole. To date, France and Denmark have adopted prohibitions on PFAS in certain consumer goods.

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