SG 152/25
The European Union (EU) has restricted per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in firefighting foams (FFFs) under Entry 82 to Annex XVII of Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 – ‘Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals’ (REACH).
On October 3, 2025, the EU issued Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/1988 to restrict PFAS in FFFs under Entry 82 to Annex XVII of REACH, current consolidated version to September 2025.
According to the definitions in the new law, ‘PFAS’ means any substance that contains at least one fully fluorinated methyl (CF3) or methylene (CF2) carbon atom (without any H/Cl/Br/I attached to it).
Key highlights of the new law are summarized in Table 1.
| Substance | Scope | Requirement | Effective date |
|---|---|---|---|
| PFAS | Firefighting foams | < 1 mg/L (sum of all PFAS)¹, ², ³ | October 23, 2030 (place on the market or use) |
¹Does not apply to the following:
³Contains additional derogations, including but not limited to placing the following FFFs on the market if they contain at least 1 mg/L for the sum of all PFAS: a) portable fire extinguishers until October 23, 2026 and b) alcohol-resistant FFFs in portable fire extinguishers until April 23, 2027 |
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Table 1
| Abbreviation | Name |
|---|---|
| C9-C14 PFCAs | C9-C14 perfluorocarboxylic acids |
| PFHxA | Undecafluorohexanoic acid |
| PFHxS | Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid |
| PFOA | Perfluorooctanoic acid |
| PFOS | Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid |
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