Recently, the European Commission has launched a public consultation on a draft amendment to the POPs Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, with a deadline of 9 March 2023 for comments. The draft proposes to include perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and related compounds in Annex I of the POPs Regulation, and if the review is passed, the list of banned substances in Annex I of the POPs Regulation will be increased from 28 to 29.

The draft proposes the following additional entries to Annex I of the POPs Regulation:

Substances    

Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and related compounds

CAS No.355-46-4 and others

Restrictions    

1. For the purposes of this entry, point (b) of Article 4((1)) applies to a concentration of PFHxS or any of its salts of ≤ 0.025 mg/kg (0.0000025%) in the substance, mixture or article.

2. for the purposes of this entry, point (b) of Article 4(1) shall apply where the sum of the concentrations of all PFHxS-related substances in the substance, mixture or article is ≤ 1 mg/kg (0.0001%). 3. for the purposes of this entry, point (b) of Article 4(1) shall apply where, when used in concentrated fire-fighting foam mixtures or used in the production of other fire-fighting foam mixtures, the PFHxS and PFHxS related compounds in concentrations ≤ 0.1 mg/kg (0.00001%), the exemption shall be reviewed by the Committee within 3 years of entry into force with a view to reducing the limit values.    

About PFHxS

PFHxS, known as perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and related substances are often used as alternatives to perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in applications such as firefighting foams, metal plating, textiles, polishes, cleaning/detergents, coatings, paper products, and in the manufacture of electronics and semiconductors.PFHxS poses a significant hazard to the environment and human health, and the European Chemicals Agency ( ECHA) has included it in the list of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) in July 2017.In June 2022 PFHxS, its salts and related compounds have been formally listed in the Stockholm Convention.

Warm reminder from eqo

In recent years, global PFAS legislation has continued to increase, and strict control has been a common trend around the world.PFHxS, as an important constituent of perfluorinated and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS), has received a high degree of attention worldwide due to its persistence in the environment and higher bioaccumulation in the human body.