Germany, US push back on flourine-chemical restriction moves

Berlin / Washington DC – Moves to impose sweeping regulatory restrictions on the use and sale all fluorine-based substances, including fluoroelastomers, have suffered a double set-back.

At the VCI Chemistry and Pharma Summit, held 12 Sept in Berlin, chancellor Olaf Scholz acknowledged the “enormous” importance of the chemicals & pharmaceuticals industry to Germany.

"Chemistry is the beginning of everything. Without chemistry, there would be no life. But without chemistry, there would be no industry either," Scholz said in his opening speech.

Germany’s leader then presented his government's new chemical strategy stating that, among other steps, this would ensure “no undifferentiated total ban on chemical substance groups.”

Scholz’s comments were widely interpreted as referring to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), for which the European Chemicals Agency is pursuing restriction proposals – including a blanket ban.

The chancellor also promised to meet other demands from Germany’s hard-pressed chemicals makers, including: reduced bureaucratic hurdles, greater support for R&D and transition in the circular economy; and measures to mitigate high energy costs.

In the US, meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided to delay the imposition of PFAS reporting requirements due to concerns over the testing systems involved.

Under the US Toxic Substances Control Act, all manufacturers and importers of PFAS, including articles, will have to report a broad range of data-sets into a ‘central data exchange’ (CDX).

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) welcomed EPA’s decision "to ensure the CDX system is thoroughly tested and ready for data submission before opening this unprecedented and significant reporting.”

In its 4 Sept statement, the ACC highlighted its “substantial” concerns that the CDX and its reporting platform could not handle the vast amounts of data expected to be input into the system.

Industry and the value-chain, it said, need sufficient time to beta test the reporting tool and to provide feedback on the functionality of the system and tools.

Moreover, ACC remains "concerned with the overly broad approach and the unprecedented breadth of information being requested by this rule.”

PFAS, it noted, are a diverse group of chemistries integral to thousands of products and essential for key sectors, including defence, automotive, semiconductors, electronics, energy, pharma and healthcare.