Read the full article by Pat Rizzo (Bloomberg Environment)
“The scientific, policy, and regulatory issues surrounding the large, diverse group of chemicals known as PFAS will be better addressed by two industry groups instead of one, a major chemical trade association has decided.
The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) FluoroCouncil has become two organizations: the Performance Fluoropolymer Partnership and the Alliance for Telomer Chemistry Stewardship, the council announced Tuesday.
Each group will track policies, legislation, and regulation of interest to their customers and help decision-makers understand the value that fluoropolymers and flurotelomers have for different industrial and consumer applications, said Robert J. Simon, ACC’s vice president of chemical products and technology.
The fluoropolymer partnership and telomer alliance also will provide new scientific studies and best practices to help their customers use the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances responsibly, Simon said.
The fluoropolymer partnership’s members will include AGC Inc., the Chemours Company LLC, and Daikin Industries Ltd., while the telomer alliance will include AGC, Daikin, Dynax Corp., and Johnson Controls, Inc., known as JCI.
There’s some overlap in chemical manufacturing members, but the industry sectors they serve have distinct interests that would be better represented by two organizations—each of which could specialize in particular product lines, Simon said.
Richard E. Engler, director of chemistry with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., said dividing PFAS work into two organizations is a ‘smart move.’
A common trait of all PFAS is that they contain fluorine, but the chemicals have ‘very different properties with very different, potential regulatory implications,’ he said.
Different Sectors
The electronics, transportation, chemical, and medical industries are among the major sectors that depend on the chemical, fire, temperature, and weather resistant properties of fluoropolymers, Simon said.
A socioeconomic analysis that ACC’s Fluorocouncil released last month offered more detail on ways industries use these chemicals.
The newer types of fluorotelomers that the alliance will represent are used to provide dirt, grease, and water resistance for products such as first responders’ gear, medical garments, upholstery, food packaging, and paints, according to chemistry council information.
The estimated number of PFAS varies, but reaches into the thousands.
PFAS, particularly ones no longer made in the U.S., can be found in sources of drinking water, persist in the environment and build up in the food chain. They’ve also been associated with an increased risk of health concerns including cancer.
Twenty-three states are working on ways to protect people from drinking water contaminated with PFAS.
Addressing Safety
A central focus of the fluoropolymer partnership and the telomer alliance is helping show customers, policy makers, and the public that both types of PFAS have been studied and found safe, Simon said.
The fluoropolymers are ‘large, stable, inert polymeric molecules that are too large to cross biological membranes and therefore do not present significant concerns,’ the chemistry council said.
Fluorotelomer manufacturers worked with the EPA on the studies they’d conduct to win approval for the new, shorter chemicals they’ve, made, Simon said. The shorter forms are called ‘C6’ for the maximum number of carbon atoms they contain…”