Forever Chemical Added to International Forbidden List

Photo: Wikimedia

A specific subset of the “forever chemical” family, (long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids or PFCAs) has been added to the Stockhom Convention on Persistant Organic Pollutants. The Convention began at the UN and with near universal acceptance (185 countries have agreed to it, but not by the U.S., Israel, and Malaysia.)

“These substances may be essential for certain industrial processes due to their high resistance,” he says, “but they are unnecessary in everyday consumer goods.” - Martin Scheringer, professor of environmental chemistry at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich and chair of the International Panel on Chemical Pollution (IPCP)

Meanwhile, France passed a law banning PFAS from some consumer products, specifically cosmetics and clothing textiles, starting in 2026.