The EU's proposal to restrict PFAS – also known as "forever chemicals" – is at serious risk of being hijacked by corporate lobbying, as the European Commission is being targeted by industry lobbies from Europe and across the world to protect their PFAS profits from regulation, a new report found.
Corporate Europe Observatory's (CEO) new report, 'Chemical reaction: Inside the corporate fight against the EU's PFAS restriction', exposes the intense corporate lobbying campaign at the EU level to undermine the current PFAS proposal. Their findings correspond with the Forever Lobbying Project — a cross-border investigation by 46 journalists across 29 media outlets in 16 countries.
"There are two aspects to this report: there is what the corporations and the corporate lobbies are doing, and there is what is happening in the EU institutions, particularly the European Commission," Vicky Cann of the Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), the author of the report, told The Brussels Times. "There are two sides of the same coin: the corporate interests, but also how the Commission is responding."
Spin, scaremongering and industry-funded science
The European Chemicals Agency is currently examining a proposal submitted by Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden to introduce a broad ban on PFAS. This includes some time-limited exemptions for critical uses of PFAS where there are no adequate alternatives. Eventually, the file will pass to the Commission to prepare a final proposal to be agreed upon by the EU Member States.
The report found that the Commission's initial ambition to tackle chemical pollution has lately been downgraded, with PFAS industry arguments being adopted at the highest levels in the Commission. Additionally, corporate lobbies have been proactively targeting the Commission regarding the PFAS restriction.
The survey of 15 European Commission directorate-generals showed that not only does the Commission not have any specific measures in place to protect itself from PFAS corporate influence, but in some cases it is actually encouraging PFAS lobbyists with reassuring indications about its future decision-making.
"The corporate lobby campaign relies heavily on spin, industry-funded science and studies, scaremongering, and some unsubstantiated claims," the report reads. "Worryingly many of these arguments have been repeated by politicians and are now framing the political debate on PFAS."
Blood tests for PFAS. Credit: Belga/Jonas Roosens
Lobbying tactics to resist the proposed EU PFAS regulation include face-to-face lobbying with the Commission and other EU decision-makers to amplify their lobby agenda, deploying industry-funded studies and legal firms, and promoting voluntary schemes to distract from a meaningful restriction.
On top of this, lobbies fund "impact assessments" and other studies favourable to the industry. Voluntary schemes are promoted as part of its opposition to tough regulation. "We can see that a number of the big PFAS producers have really increased their declared EU lobby spending in recent times," Cann said.
"There is a lot of spin and misleading communications about what the industry is saying. But on the Commission's side, there is far too much willingness to meet with the PFAS industry lobby at this stage in the process," Cann said. She says that the Commission should only be observing, but instead it is actively engaging with lobbyists: meeting with them, offering advice, offering help.
"Unless the Commission changes its approach towards the chemical industry and the wider PFAS lobby, we are not going to get the restriction that we really need to tackle PFAS pollution," Cann said.
What's at stake?
PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) are man-made chemicals used for waterproofing, cookware, fridges, asthma inhalers, and industrial manufacturing. However, these chemicals do not break down in the environment, with major implications for human health, the climate crisis, and the environment.
In 2023 the 'Forever Pollution Project' investigation identified 23,000 PFAS-contaminated sites just in Europe, with 20 manufacturing facilities and more than 2,100 sites considered to be "PFAS hotspots" – such as the area around the 3M plant in Zwijndrecht (Antwerp) in Belgium.
The site of the 3M plant in Zwijndrecht. Credit: Belga / Eric Lalmand
'Forever Lobbying Project' calculates that the costs of cleaning up ongoing PFAS pollution, including emerging PFAS, could be more than €2 trillion in the next 20 years. Unless action is taken, the annual bill could amount to €100 billion per year. "It is clear that we need to turn off the PFAS tap. It is time for a lobby firewall to protect PFAS decision-making from corporate lobbying."
The health and environmental impacts of PFAS pollution show that a robust PFAS restriction is vital. But the chemicals industry has a long track record of successfully delaying and weakening rules to restrict harmful chemicals, Cann cautions. "The parallels with the tactics of the tobacco industry are clear and we need additional lobby rules in place to protect the public interest from toxic lobbying."
What now?
The report calls for an immediate halt to all private Commission lobby meetings on the PFAS restriction with those industry voices demanding exemptions and derogations. The private and commercial interests pursued by these industry organisations justify such a measure to limit their influence and/or input. "The Commission must also take care not to pre-empt the work of ECHA and remain solely in its observer role."
The Commission should also scale up its work to substitute harmful substances such as PFAS with safer alternatives. There is now a risk that alternatives to PFAS are not getting the recognition that they need. "There are worrying signals coming from the new Commission, so there is urgency. Both to tackle the PFAS problem and to tackle the problem of PFAS lobbying as well."
The European parliament, the Paul-Henry Spaak building (PHS). Credit: Belga/James Arthuer Gekiere
Reacting to the report, Zero Waste Europe underlined that the widespread PFAS contamination in Europe often exceeds levels that are hazardous to health. "These substances, touted for their 'anti-stick' properties, ironically cling to our environment and bodies for centuries. Despite clear evidence of their harm, PFAS use and pollution continue to escalate, paving the way for a massive future crisis. This situation is unacceptable," said Dorota Napierska, Toxic-Free Circular Economy Policy Officer.
"PFAS pollution is not just a public health crisis but a stark example of industrial lobbying and systemic inaction," she said. "While industries spend millions lobbying to protect profits, the public shoulders the far greater cost – paying billions for clean-up efforts and skyrocketing healthcare expenses."
Janek Vähk, Zero Pollution Policy Manager, stressed that PFAS spread through an often-overlooked source: the burning of consumer waste, including clothing, packaging, and electronics. "Our research across five countries shows significant contamination in areas around waste incinerators."
"These 'forever chemicals' are extraordinarily resistant to breakdown and cannot be destroyed at standard incineration temperatures," he said. "Ironically, the industry's touted solution—incineration—is not mitigating the problem but worsening it."
