An environmentalist bill aimed at restricting the manufacture and sale of products containing PFAS, substances nicknamed “eternal pollutants”, is presented this Thursday to the National Assembly.
The “eternal pollutants” arrive at the National Assembly. This Wednesday, MPs are examining an environmentalist bill aimed at restricting the manufacture and sale of products containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances – more generally called PFAS, by their English acronym. Massively present in daily life, these substances are almost indestructible and accumulate over time in the air, soil, water, food and, ultimately, in the human body, hence their nickname ” eternal pollutants.
Sportswear, waterproof textiles, ski waxes, non-stick pans, food packaging, fire extinguishing foams, detergents, cosmetics, medicines, prosthetics, coatings and paints, air filtration membranes and even space probe hoses … PFAS have been widely used by manufacturers of a large number of objects and products for decades, interested in their resistance to corrosion, heat or light. There are thousands of PFAS, in gaseous, liquid or solid form.
Why do “perennial pollutants” worry scientists?
These substances are of concern for several possible toxic effects on human health, but studies on the subject are still incomplete. Especially since not all PFAS are precisely known, which complicates health monitoring. If “knowledge on the health risks associated with different PFAS is insufficient, or even absent”, “harmful and toxic effects on human metabolism have been observed for several PFAS”, summarized the General Inspectorate of Environment and Development sustainable development (IGEDD) in France in 2023.
In the event of prolonged exposure, certain PFAS can promote cancer, affect fertility and fetal development, or even increase the risk of obesity, according to various studies. As a result, the contamination of drinking water by PFAS is regularly denounced. In Europe, 17,000 sites are contaminated, including 2,100 at levels dangerous to health (more than 100 nanograms per liter), according to mapping carried out by around fifteen media outlets and published in February 2023. The “chemistry valley”, near of Lyon, is particularly scrutinized.
By 2026 and 2030
The text presented by Nicolas Thierry, environmentalist deputy for Gironde, aims to reduce the exposure of the French population to PFAS, by prohibiting the manufacture, import, export and marketing of certain products which contain them. In its initial version, it planned to ban the use of PFAS by July 2025 for certain products, and 2027 for others, with possible exemptions. In order to obtain a majority in the Sustainable Development Committee last week, Nicolas Thierry agreed to restrict its ambition.
The version presented in the hemicycle plans to ban from January 1, 2026 any kitchen utensil, cosmetic product, wax product (for skis) or textile clothing product containing PFAS, with the exception of clothing. protection for security and civil safety professionals. All textiles would be affected by the ban from January 1, 2030. The packaging sector, however, falls outside the scope of the law, to the extent that a European regulation must “very soon” regulate it more strictly.
Other measures: the obligation to control the presence of PFAS in drinking water throughout the territory and the application of the polluter pays principle with a tax targeting manufacturers who release them.
Jérémy Bruno with AFP Journalist BFMTV