Second Public Consultation on PFAS EU Restriction Just Started

Today (March 26), the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) published a draft opinion of its Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) on universal REACH restriction of PFAS. This publication marks the beginning of a two-month public consultation on the draft SEAC Opinion that will run until May 25, 2026.

As a reminder, the PFAS REACH restriction proposal aims to restrict all PFAS, including fluoropolymers, in mixtures and in articles, unless specifically derogated.

As compared to the August 2025 amended restriction proposal, the derogations as well as the derogation periods in the Draft SEAC Opinion remain the same, but the evaluation of several uses is different, as SEAC often disagrees with the restriction proposal. For example, in the assessment part of the draft Opinion, SEAC recommends that the derogation for transport applications be extended to all PFAS and not only to fluoropolymers. SEAC also questioned the findings of the restriction proposal that there are no alternatives for some of the uses. So, especially for these disputed uses, the submission in the public consultation is warranted.

This upcoming second public consultation will be different from the first. To start, it will be limited to the description of uses, derogations, and analysis of alternatives. Second, it will be in the form of a survey; there will be no possibility to submit attachments, and there will be limited space for free answers to each of the questions (5000 characters). Third, due to timing constraints, SEAC evaluated in detail only the 14 sectors that were included in the original 2023 restriction proposal. The additional sectors identified in the August 2025 proposal, including sealing and machinery applications, are not specifically included in the survey. However, these sectors can be addressed in the general part of the survey. The message will then be conveyed to the European Commission, who will be tasked with evaluating these additional sectors, and coming up with the final text of the PFAS restriction.

Thus, companies should check the proposed derogations in the draft SEAC Opinion, as well as the underlying assessment, and submit a comment in the public consultation in the case that their use(s) are not covered by a derogation, or the derogation period is not sufficient to fully implement an alternative. Most of the exemptions are granted for 13.5 years after the date of publication of the future PFAS restriction regulation (which we expect to take place 2029/2030), but this may not be enough. Also, information on available alternatives may not be accurate, so any new information should be provided.

ECHA has provided a Guidance Document to help the applicants prepare for submission as well as a document mapping the uses in the survey.

The link to the public consultation is here.

In addition to the SEAC Draft Opinion, another ECHA Committee, the Risk Assessment Committee (RAC), published its final opinion on the PFAS restriction. In terms of uses and derogations, it is identical to the draft SEAC Opinion; however, the RAC opinion includes some newly proposed risk management measures, such as labeling, reporting, and emission control obligations.

Keller and Heckman has experience in submitting comments in ECHA public consultation and we would be pleased to help. For more information, please contact Ales Bartl at bartl@khlaw.com.

Keller and Heckman LLP presents a webinar on the European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation as part of the REACH 30/30 webinar series. Click here to learn more.