Regulatory Status
In May 2009 PFOS was included in Annex B of the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants by the Fourth Conference of Parties. Canada has a proposed ban on PFOS, only the second chemical proposed for a complete ban under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
Based on an OECD study on PFOS and a risk assessment by Europe's Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks the European Union practically banned the use of PFOS in finished and semi-finished products in 2006 (maximum content of PFOS: 0.005% by weight). Use of PFOS for industrial applications (e.g. photolithography, mist suppressants for hard chromium plating, hydraulic fluids for aviation) was exempted. In 2009 this directive was incorporated into the REACH regulation. In summer 2010 PFOS was added to the regulation on persistent organic pollutants and the threshold was lowered to max. 0.001% by weight (10 mg/kg).
Read more about this topic: Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid
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