Fluoropolymer Focus

As federal and state governments race to regulate a class of chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), their broad efforts sweep in thousands of individual chemicals—from those for which scientific consensus coalesces on significant health and environmental effects (PFAS of Concern or PFOC) to those which are generally understood by the scientific community to be safe.

This regular update will focus on the regulation of fluoropolymers—a distinct class of PFAS that can vary toxicologically from PFOC and are crucial to, and irreplaceable in, several industrial applications ranging from manufacturing of solar panels and windmill blades for clean energy systems, to optimizing lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen fuel cells in electrical vehicles, to facilitating microchips that support the semiconductor industry and allow the development of modern electronic devices such as mobile phones and laptops.