ESA calls for ‘horizontal, duty-based exclusion’ for PFAS in sealing applications

Brussels – The European Sealing Association (ESA) has called for "a horizontal, duty-based exclusion" for PFAS used in sealing applications, arguing that fluoropolymers and perfluoroelastomers should be excluded from the scope of the proposed EU restriction.

The call follows the close of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) public consultation 25 May, after a 60-day consultation period on the committee's draft opinion regarding the proposed PFAS restriction.

ESA was among more than 3,200 organisations and 250 individuals that participated in the consultation, contributing to a total of 3,511 comments submitted to ECHA.

According to ESA's ESG director Sandy Van den Broeck, PFAS used in sealing applications are primarily fluoropolymers and perfluoroelastomers.

The polymers are used in critical applications' such as high-performance seals, gaskets, O-rings, mechanical seals, packings and expansion joints operating under demanding conditions, said the ESA director 28 July.

Under “the baseline scenario without derogations,” Van den Broeck said, high-performance sealing applications, contributing to roughly €20 billion in output and 54,900 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs are at risk.

According to the ESA director, manufacturers have demonstrated that substitution is either "technically unfeasible" or cannot be achieved within the required timeframe for many critical applications.

"A horizontal, duty-based exclusion linked to demonstrable containment performance and credible end-of-life controls would constitute the most appropriate EU-wide regulatory approach," said Van den Broeck.

Such an approach, he argued, would protect human health and the environment by preserving technologies that prevent fugitive emissions across industrial sectors, helping avoid "the unintended consequences of increased leakage rates" resulting from premature adoption of "non-equivalent or technically unsuitable alternatives."

The proposal would also align with SEAC's emphasis on "practicality, enforceability, and monitorability," the ESA director added.

SEAC is expected to adopt its final opinion by the end of 2026, completing ECHA's scientific evaluation of the proposed restriction.

The final opinions from SEAC and ECHA's Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) will then be submitted to the European Commission, which will prepare a restriction proposal for discussion and vote by the REACH Committee representing EU member states.

The ESA also said it remains unclear "when and how" SEAC will assess the eight additional sectors, including sealing applications, that were not evaluated during the consultation.

In response, the association is considering the development of "a proactive position paper" to support future sector-specific investigations by SEAC and ECHA.

The document would be supported by a risk assessment database for non-PFAS materials and is intended to cover all sealing technologies across relevant industrial sectors, coordinated with the Fluoropolymers for Sustainable Solutions Alliance (FSA) and other industry associations.