Document 1bZMbQVKjnz1ONZ9x50b6XEj

EUROPAISCHE KOMMISSION GENERALDIREKTION UMWELT Kreislaufwirtschaft und Gtiines Wachstum Nachhaltige Chemikalien B1iissel ENV.B.2 - Ref. Ares(2021)2562187 - 15/04/2021 Dear_, Thank you for your letter of 20 March in which you asked for an EU actions on the group of chemical substances PFAS. Commissioner Sinkevicius has asked me to reply on his behalf. The Commission shares your view that PFAS are a concern, because of their extreme persistence, their occmTence and mobility in the environment and their ability to bioaccumulate and to cause adverse effects. As you mention, PFAS are used in a wide range ofproducts, including by consumers. The Commission has aheady sta1ted to regulate some of these substances and good progresses have been made under the EU legislation on chemicals and water and, internationally, under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. However, this is not sufficient, because most of the alternatives that have been developed so far to replace the banned substances belong to the same group of chemicals and present the same prope1ties of concern mentioned above. For these reasons, in the chemicals strategy for sustainability the Commission committed on phasing out the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the EU, unless their use is essential1. On the regulatory side, a group of national authorities staited the process for restricting all uses of PFAS except the essential ones under the chemicals legislation (REACH)2. The Commission is contributing to the preparation of this restriction by using the expe1tise of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). It also asked ECHA to prepare a restriction dossier on the specific use of PFAS in fire-fighting foams, responsible for many cases of contamination ofsoil and water3. You can follow the developments ofthese initiatives on a dedicated page on ECHA website4. On the international actions, the EU suppo1ted that PF AS aie considered an "issue of concern" under the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management. The Commission is contributing to international effo1ts to address PFAS concerns by pa1ticipating 1 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/strategy/chemicals strategy en 2 https://www.rivm.nl/en/pfas/pfas restriction-proposal 3 4 https://echa.europa.eu/registry-of-restriction- intentions/-/d is list/details/0b0236e1856e8ce6 https://echa.europa.eu/hot -topics/perfluoroalkyl-chemicals-pfas Commission Biiro:I J - euro=eenne/Eu ropese Commissie, 1049 Tel. Durchwahl +32___ Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIE - Tel. +32 22991111 @e ce. uropa.eu in the work of the OECD Global Perfluorinated Chemicals Group5 and by proposing and suppo1iing the listing of relevant PFAS in the Stockholm and Rotterdam Conventions. Yoms sincerely, (e-signed) 5 https://www.oecd.org/chemicalsafety/portal-perfluorinated-chemicals/ Commission europeenne/EuropeseCommissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIE - Tel. +32 22991111 Buro: B U -9 05/147 - Tel. Durchwahl +32 2 2 9 -62545 Electronicah.;a>;is,7o4,72oiii7:4/;{UTC+-02) in accordance witharticle 11 ofCommission Decision C(2020) 4482