Short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS are also called “forever chemicals” because they can take up to 1,000 years to break down in the environment or do not break down at all.
A continuously growing body of scientific evidence links PFAS exposure to an increased risk of serious, adverse health impacts, such as kidney and testicular cancer, liver disease, higher cholesterol levels, cardiovascular complications, decreased immune response, thyroid disease, hormone disruption, decreased fertility, as well as maternal and neonatal risks and complications.
PFAS are released into the environment during industrial processes, and they can also be found in non-stick frying pans, food packaging, cosmetics, pesticides, waterproof clothing, and many other products people use on a daily basis. PFAS are persistent chemicals that can accumulate in our bodies, affecting current and future generations’ health.
PFAS pollution: risk for health and a financial problem
PFAS pollution is not only putting our health at risk, but it is also creating a huge financial and health burden on our society.
Around 23,000 sites across Europe are contaminated and 12.5 million Europeans live in communities with drinking water polluted by PFAS.
A 2026 report from the EU Commission estimates the total societal costs, including health and remediation, to be nearly €440 billion by 2050 if no measures to restrict PFAS use are taken. This number only considers the human health costs related to PFAS that are already regulated (PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS and PFNA), meaning that the real health costs of all PFAS pollution are likely even higher. The report also estimates that a full phase-out of PFAS would lead to a fall in health costs from approximately €39.5 billion a year in 2024 to roughly €0.5 billion a year by 2040.
The Forever Pollution Project calculated that if nothing is done to address PFA’s pollution, decontamination costs will reach more than €100 billion per year. Over 20 years the cost would be over €2 trillion.
PFAS pollution has to be addressed on a European level
Fragmented approaches cannot solve a borderless contamination crisis; ambitious and complementary approaches at the EU and national level are essential to respond to this crisis and protect people and the environment in all EU member states.
The 2023 EU-wide PFAS restriction proposal in application of the EU REACH regulation, presented by Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden and now under review by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), must be preventative, and science-based, free from undue industry influence. In addition, as PFAS are used in many products regulated by other pieces of EU legislation, strengthening EU pesticide, biocide, and pharmaceutical legislation is also essential to tackle all PFAS sources (find here HEAL’s response to the public consultation on a proposal for an EU PFAS restriction).
To protect health, HEAL calls for a robust EU-wide PFAS restriction by no later than 2030 that entails:
- All currently unregulated PFAS, including fluoropolymers.
- Coverage of production and use across all sectors.
- Derogations only for essential uses critical to health, safety, or societal functioning – if there are no safe alternatives.
- All derogations to be time-limited and regularly reviewed.
- Strict risk-management (labelling, monitoring, reporting) for derogated uses
In May 2026, the two leading scientific committees at the European Chemicals Agency published their (draft) opinions that confirm a clear pathway : a comprehensive EU-wide restriction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is urgently needed. Both the Risk Assessment Committee and the Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis (find here HEAL’s comments on the SEAC draft opinion) determinine that existing EU measures fall short, and that the proposed restriction is the most appropriate regulatory response. After years of mounting scientific evidence and numerous legal actions at national levels, it is high time for the European Commission to adopt a comprehensive restriction of PFAS .
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