PFAS Auditing

enter the human body and leave it unchanged. As a result, fluorine-containing polymers, such as Teflon or fluororubber, do not pose a direct health risk, although, for the reasons mentioned above, their environmental impact is unfortunately far from negligible. In contrast, many short-chain fluorinated organic compounds, such as perfluorooctanoic acid, can accumulate in the body and may contribute to a number of health problems.

These factors also explain why PFAS compounds have attracted the attention of regulatory authorities, although, for the reasons outlined above, it does not necessarily seem logical to treat them all as a single group. In any case, consultations with experts and industry stakeholders are currently underway in the EU, and some form of restriction on PFAS compounds will probably come into force. The first signs of these restrictions have already appeared recently, for example in the case of firefighting foams.

Therefore, it cannot be said that no PFAS compounds are subject to restrictions. The aforementioned perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and its salts are already classified as persistent organic pollutants under the Stockholm Convention, while many PFAS substances are classified as fluorinated greenhouse gases, the intentional release of which into the atmosphere is also prohibited or strictly limited.

In addition, there are numerous laws affecting PFAS substances around the world, and navigating this regulatory maze is far from easy. That is why it is worth seeking expert assistance. Request a quotation for the necessary compliance tests.

What are PFAS chemicals? PFAS substances are a group of chemicals that contain at least one methyl or methylene group in which the hydrogen atoms have been completely substituted with fluorine atoms. In practice, this represents a huge family of compounds comprising more than ten thousand substances, meaning that we are dealing with a very diverse range of chemicals. What they have in common is that they are extremely difficult to break down in nature due to the very strong carbon-fluorine bond. For this reason, they are also often referred to as “forever chemicals”.

However, it is important to understand that the health effects of these substances vary considerably, and the dividing line largely lies between polymers and short-chain compounds. Polymers generally