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Ales Bartl Quoted in Chemical Watch Article on Broad PFAS Restriction

Keller and Heckman Partner Ales Bartl was quoted in the Chemical Watch article, “European Commission adoption of broad PFAS restriction could spark legal action.” The article discusses the EU-wide per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) restriction proposal, which targets more than 10,000 substances and offers very few time-limited derogations on specific uses.

According to Keller and Heckman attorneys, additional derogations would be primarily considered by the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) risk assessment (Rac) and socio-economic (Seac) committees. For example, these committees could consider derogations for “very specific and narrow uses where the risk and socio-economic arguments will be particularly strong,” said Ales.

Ales mentioned that the grounds for a legal challenge, once the Commission adopts the restriction, would include the definition of the PFAS group being too broad as it covers substances that do not have hazardous properties of concern or entail unacceptable risk.

“This would be an important legal question that may influence future restriction proposals based on grouping, as envisaged in the chemicals strategy for sustainability: do the EU authorities have to demonstrate that all substances in the group pose the concern for which the group is restricted,” he said.

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