Ban Forever Chemicals Now
To the European Commission, European Parliament and Council of the European Union
Petition
To the European Commission:
We call on you to protect people’s health by strengthening, not weakening, Europe’s rules on toxic “forever chemicals.”
Right now, you are considering changes that risk rolling back essential protections against PFAS contamination. We urge you to reject any proposal that delays or dilutes the planned phase-out of PFAS — and instead put forward the strongest possible restrictions, including on industrial uses that account for the majority of PFAS pollution.
Across Europe, governments are already showing that ambitious action is possible. France is phasing PFAS out of cosmetics, textiles and consumer products. Denmark has banned PFAS in food packaging, firefighting foam and pesticides. Sweden recognises high PFAS levels in blood as personal injury. Europe should match — and exceed — this level of protection.
Every delay means more toxic chemicals entering our water, our food, and our bodies — contamination that can last for generations.
We urge you to act now and deliver a PFAS ban that puts people’s health above industry profit.Why is this important?
Nothing lasts forever, except for toxic man-made PFAS chemicals.
Everyday we’re exposed to these ‘forever chemicals’: in food packaging, frying pans, raincoats, and the list goes on. No wonder 98% of Europeans have toxic chemicals in their blood. [1]
They weaken our immune systems, disrupt hormones, and are linked to cancer. [2] Entire communities across Europe can’t even drink from the tap because contamination is so high. [3]
But here’s the good news: we finally have a real chance to ban them across Europe — pressure from countries like France, Denmark and Sweden has opened the door for a historic ban. [4]
But chemical lobbyists like 3M, DuPont and Bayer-Monsanto are fighting back hard: they’ve spent over €100 million lobbying the EU to gut or weaken any proposal. [5]
Now we need to stand with the countries fighting for this ban, and make sure our voice is louder than the corporations trying to erase it.
Let’s show EU leaders that people across Europe will not tolerate toxic forever chemicals in our bodies, our water, and our future.
References:
[1] PFAS detected in blood across Europe - https://chemtrust.org/news/pfas_found_in_eu_leaders_blood/
[2] PFAS health risks - https://eeb.org/en/work-areas/industry-health/pfas; And PFAS exposure investigation - https://www.lemonde.fr/en/les-decodeurs/article/2023/02/23/revealed-the-massive-contamination-of-europe-by-pfas-forever-chemicals_6016906_8.html
[3] PFAS contamination in drinking water in France - https://www.euractiv.com/section/chemicals/news/pfas-forever-chemicals-found-in-french-drinking-water/
[4] National PFAS wins in Europe - France: Ban in cosmetics, textiles, and consumer products -https://www.euractiv.com/section/chemicals/news/france-adopts-ban-on-forever-chemicals-in-consumer-products/; Denmark: Bans in food packaging, firefighting foam, and PFAS-containing pesticides - https://www.foedevarestyrelsen.dk/english/Sider/Denmark-bans-PFAS-in-food-packaging.aspx; https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/denmark-ban-pfas-firefighting-foam-2020-01-03/; Sweden: High PFAS blood levels recognised legally as personal injury - https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/swedish-court-rules-pfas-contamination-personal-injury-2023-04-03/; https://www.stockholm.se/aktuellt/nyheter/2023/03/pfas-fria-produkter-i-stadens-upphandlingar/
[5] €100 million lobbying to weaken PFAS rules {{ "https://corporateeurope.org/en/2023/07/toxics-industry-fights-back-against-proposed-forever-chemicals-ban" }}