PFAS: standards to make the invisible visible

They had their whistleblowers, grouped together in The Forever Pollution Project (represented in particular by Le Monde in France); PFAS now have their own law. Thursday, February 20, 2025, the proposed "anti-PFAS" law The bill, which had been championed for a year by MP Nicolas Thierry (EELV, Gironde), was adopted by the National Assembly, although stripped of a number of its previous provisions.

The text no longer mentions PFAS present in cookware that comes into contact with food, such as PTFE in non-stick pans, as certain manufacturers have protested. However, it does plan to ban some of these persistent pollutants from 2026 in several sectors: cosmetics, ski waxes, and clothing textiles, excluding technical textiles for industrial use. The Senate had already given its green light in May 2024. On another note, the bill plans to include PFAS monitoring in drinking water control procedures and to introduce a levy on manufacturers based on the polluter pays principle.

PFAS, yes, but which PFAS? With nearly 15,000 molecules identified, 17,000 heavily polluted sites in Europe, and between €52 and €84 billion per year in healthcare costs in Europe due to cancer and suspected endocrine disruption (figures reported by The Forever Pollution Project), the issue is so complex that one wonders why we haven't heard about it before. Above all, it is dizzying, because there are thousands of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: their list stretches endlessly, with tiny molecular variations.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a bottomless pit

First, a quick technical reminder. What are PFAS? "They are molecules that humans began manufacturing after World War II," explains Florian Lahrouch, standardization project manager at AFNOR (sustainable and societal transitions department). They are very attractive to industry because of their mechanical properties, heat resistance, and water repellency. They were very useful to us until we realized that they cause pollution, with the first scandal involving a DuPont factory in the United States in 2005."

At the time, the substance in question was PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), which was used in Teflon, the well-known non-stick coating. On our side of the Atlantic, the European Food Safety Authority was only referred to by the European Commission in 2015 and began setting maximum exposure limits for the main PFAS, such as PFOA since July 2020 and PFHxS (perfluorohexane sulfonic acid) since June 2022. But there is a problem: PFAS change form quite easily. "Regulations address the issue molecule by molecule, rather than by family. It is therefore easy to circumvent bans by simply adding molecules to a chain," explains Maud Liron, Head of Development for the Water Cycle and Biodiversity at AFNOR.

In the space of sixty years, the problem has exploded. PFAS are multiplying and, although exceptionally resistant, they have a flaw in their qualities: they are impossible to get rid of. PFAS pollution is spreading in water, air, and soil all over the planet: each publication by the Forever Pollution Project brings its share of surprises; they have even been detected in Antarctica! PFAS are found in almost every product we touch or wear. "It's widespread. But to confirm this, we need reliable and agreed-upon detection methods specific to each environmental sample," says Maud Liron.

NF EN 17892, for measuring PFAS in drinking water

This is how AFNOR is contributing to the effort: to raise awareness, measurements must be taken, and to take measurements, standardized protocols are needed. In June 2024, the first voluntary standard for detecting and measuring PFAS in drinking water will be released. NF EN 17892 , adopted throughout Europe and using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). This is a godsend at a time when the first article of the brand-new law requires PFAS to be included in drinking water control procedures (specific list to be determined by decree) and an interministerial action plan to be established to finance the decontamination of drinking water! The experts gathered in the AFNOR standardization committees are now working on all fronts, from sewage sludge to gaseous PFAS in ambient air, including PFAS in leather and shoes.

While the future regulatory landscape remains unclear, given the intense pressure surrounding it, one thing is certain: France, followed by Denmark, has taken the lead. "As part of the 2023 interministerial plan, AFNOR is assisting the government with its impact assessment," Florian Lahrouch continues. We are also working on our industry's dependence on PFAS and on current and future alternatives. Standardization will not bring about the innovations of tomorrow, but it can provide the confidence needed to implement them." For example, in the case of fire-resistant clothing, items are coated with a product containing PFAS, and their effectiveness would be compromised if an alternative were to be found. For the moment, therefore, we are more in a position of assessment than confrontation, but the round table is likely to become heated. It is AFNOR's role to bring together representatives of opposing interests. To preserve competitiveness and innovation while protecting

Among the manufacturers involved in standardization is SNCF. Mégane Dellal, standardization advisor in the Interoperability, Standardization & Research Europe department, confirms that her group needs to have methods of determination "to know exactly where we stand and to what extent we are affected." "Finding an alternative to PFAS can be very complicated, if only to find suppliers or components with equivalent performance," she adds. We are still in the early stages: "We must ensure that the transition is feasible," Mégane Dellal insists.

A common language for detecting, sampling, analyzing, and comparing

"We learn as we go along; not all PFAS have been analyzed yet," confirms Xavier Chaucherie, Director of Innovation and Processes at Sarpi. "If there are to be regulatory thresholds, we must all have the same standards in terms of sampling and analysis at the European level." " Sarpi, a Veolia group entity that incinerates hazardous waste in France and Europe (4,000 employees and 110 sites), began working on this in 2021, based on questions raised by experts in Belgium. "At the time, it was an analytical desert, but since then, a lot of progress has been made," continues Xavier Chaucherie. As a result, in 2024, Sarpi integrated the AFNOR standardization commission working on emissions from stationary sources into the ambient air and measuring their concentration using infrared spectroscopy.

This commission produced the XP X43-125 standard. "It is very important for us to measure and prove the performance of our treatments, between what enters and what leaves our sites. And we take care to limit incoming PFAS flows to ensure we can achieve this: we don't sell dreams, our jobs require rigor," says Xavier Chaucherie. Incidentally, Sarpi has patented an incineration solution: who said that standardization hinders innovation?

Anne-Françoise Stoffel, who represents Eurofins Laboratories (Saverne site) at AFNOR, echoes this sentiment. Involved in standardization committees on Test methods for the environmental characterization of solid matrices and on organic micropollutants in water She emphasizes Eurofins' commitment to "supporting innovation and sharing knowledge, with the aim of ensuring the reliability of analysis results specifically for this family of complex and ubiquitous pollutants known as PFAS." "A standard is intended to be a reference document and represents the technical consensus among different analytical laboratory stakeholders," she concludes.