EU Adds PFHxS to Prohibited List under POPs Regulation

On August 8, 2023, EU issued Regulation (EU) 2023/1068 to list perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts, and PFHxS-related compounds in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, also known as the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Regulation. The regulation will come into effect 20 days after its publication.

According to the POPs Regulation, the manufacturing, placing on the market, and use of substances listed in Annex I, whether they are in their pure form, mixtures, or part of articles, will be prohibited.

To ensure compliance with the regulation, a specific limit value has been established for PFHxS, its salts, and PFHxS-related compounds when they occur as unintentional trace contaminants in substances, mixtures, and articles. The restricted conditions for PFHxS, its salts, and PFHxS-related compounds are outlined as follows:

Substance	CAS No	EC No	Limit value
Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and PFHxS-related compounds	355-46-4 and others	206-587-1 and others	≦ 0.025 mg/kg (0.0000025 % by weight) for PFHxS or any of its salts ≦ 1mg/kg (0.0001 % by weight) for the sum of concentrations of all PFHxS-related compounds ≦ 0.1 mg/kg (0.00001 % by weight) for PFHxS, its salts and PFHxS-related compounds present in concentrated firefighting foam mixtures that are to be used or are used in the production of other firefighting foam mixtures. (This exemption shall be reviewed and assessed by the Commission no later than 28 August 2026)