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The revision of the REACH chemicals regulation is an opportunity to ban the introduction of PFAS into new products and packaging
Strasbourg, October 8, 2026 - On Wednesday (October 6, 2026), the European Chemicals Agency's Committee for Risk Assessment recommended that the European Commission classify one of the PFAS chemical compounds, known as TFA and its inorganic salts, as toxic to reproduction—meaning it has harmful effects on development and on sexual function and fertility—as well as persistent, mobile, and toxic, or very persistent and very mobile, thereby causing long-term contamination of water resources.
As a reminder, this is the PFAS chemical compound found in the blood of all 110 participants in a study conducted this summer by the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, including ten Croatian participants from Gospić, Knin, and Pula who traveled to Brussels for blood tests organized by Možemo MEP Gordan Bosanac.
More specifically, the Committee for Risk Assessment recommended that TFA, NaTFA, and other inorganic salts be classified as toxic to reproduction in category 1B for harmful effects on development and in category 2 for harmful effects on sexual function and fertility; as persistent, mobile, and toxic (PMT); and as very persistent and very mobile (vPvM), which can cause very long-term and widespread contamination of water resources.
The European Chemicals Agency also explained that TFA does not degrade easily and can travel through soil and water, which can lead to widespread and very long-term contamination of groundwater and other water resources.
Commenting on the European Chemicals Agency's announcement, Bosanac pointed out that it is now clear that TFA is toxic to human and animal reproduction and that it is essential for the European Commission to react urgently following the Agency's recommendations: “I welcome this decision by the European Chemicals Agency, which comes just days after our study showed that TFA is present in the blood of European Union citizens. Since it is standard practice for the European Commission to adopt such classification recommendations through the regular procedure, which could delay adoption until 2030, I will work with my colleagues from the Greens group in the European Parliament to push the Commission to act and begin working on the European Chemicals Agency's recommendations within the next three to six months.”
He also recalled that last week, following the release of the PFAS test results for ten Croatian citizens, he called for a ban on PFAS compounds, as well as the phasing out of their production and use. “The revision of the REACH chemicals regulation is an opportunity to ban the introduction of PFAS into new products and packaging. However, that is not enough; we need an EU-wide strategy to combat PFAS waste so that it is processed and disposed of in a way that prevents it from leaching into nature and polluting the environment,” said Bosanac.
During last week's presentation of the PFAS test results, Bosanac also requested that funds be secured at the European Union level for testing that would cover a much larger number of citizens and provide representative results. “Croatia must establish a national screening program for PFAS compound testing, which should be financed by EU funds,” he emphasized at the time.
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