POPs Regulatory Updates
▼ New Requirement to PFOS
On April 14, 2025, the European Commission adopted the draft amendment to the POPs Regulation published on December 4, 2023. This draft aims to revise the restriction requirements for Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS). In the future, the European Commission will publish the revised POPs Regulation in the Official Journal of the European Union, officially enacting the new restrictions for PFOS.
The revisions to the PFOS restriction requirements are as follows:
l Align the substance identification terminology for Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and its derivatives with that of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA);
l Introduce an UTC (Unintended Trace Contaminant) limit for PFOS and its salts, aligning it with PFOA;
l Strengthen UTC limits for PFOS-related compounds in substances, mixtures, and articles;
l Removed point 4 related to the specific exemption for the use of PFOS and its derivatives as mist suppressants in non-decorative hard chrome plating, as alternatives are available.
l Remove point 5 related to analytical standards.
The first three points are summarized in the table below.
| Current Regulations | Draft Amendment |
Substance | Perfluorooctane Sulfonate and its derivatives (PFOS) | Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), its salts, and PFOS-related compounds |
Specific exemptions or other provisions for use as an intermediate | Limit for PFOS as an Unintended Trace Contaminant (UTC) in substances or mixtures ≤ 10 mg/kg | Limit for PFOS or any of its salts as UTC in substances, mixtures, or articles ≤ 0.025 mg/kg |
Limit for PFOS as UTC in semi-finished products, articles, or their components <0.1%, or limit for PFOS in coating materials <1 ug/m² (textiles or other coated materials) | Total limit for all PFOS-related compounds as UTC in substances, mixtures, or articles ≤ 1 mg/kg |
CIRS Testing Services
The EU POPs Regulation is a mandatory regulation of the EU, controlling substances under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. Currently, nearly 200 countries and regions globally, including China, are signatories to this convention. CIRS advises companies to conduct risk material screening and testing confirmation, plan ahead for product compliance routes, and offers a one-stop solution for EU POPs compliance, including consulting, training, and testing. This helps ensure your products meet the latest control requirements and mitigate trade risks!
If you need any assistance or have any questions, please get in touch with us via test@cirs-group.com.
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