A backlash from manufacturers and users of the chemicals is now gearing up.

In the US, where campaigners have long had PFAS on their radar, consumer products giant 3M has vowed to banish them from its products by the end of 2025, spurred by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plans to regulate them in wastewater discharges. Fluorchemicals producers are not ready call it quits, however.

In Europe, five countries including Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, recently declared “war” on PFAS, formally submitting a proposal to the EU Commission calling for a phase-out of tens of thousands of related substances.

The proposal, which could take effect sometime after 2026, offers two scenarios: a complete ban or one with specific exemptions based on the availability of alternatives. Manufacturers of components for medical equipment, for example, would have a transition period of up to 12 years while others would have only 18 months.

Europe’s semi-conductor industry and chemical producers supplying the sector on both continents are now ringing alarm bells ahead of what Frauke Averbeck, who led the EU proposal for the German Environment Agency, claimed would constitute “the broadest restriction proposal in history.”

A wide ban on PFAS could have severe consequences for many companies on the supply side, former DuPont chemicals arm Chemours, a leading manufacturer of high-end fluoropolymers, warned.  This, said the company that has paid hefty fines for US discharges, would create “severe global disruption” of supply chains ranging from semiconductors to cars and mobile phones.

Belgian chemicals giant Solvay, which also produces fluorochemicals, has said it would analyze the potential implications of a ban for its products and businesses. Solvay, which recently announced it would phase out fluorosurfactants, said it currently has PFAS “under the most intense spotlight.”

Backers of a Europe-wide ban say the move is overdue as the electronics industry’s PFAS consumption is rising by over 10% annually, driven mainly by soaring demand for chips. According to their count, more than 300,000 tonnes of PFAS were introduced to the market in 2020, and over 30 years, the expected consumption in the European Economic Area could rise to 49 million.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist