[Europe] EU PFAS Regulation Enters "Countdown": ECHA to Submit Final Opinion by Year-End, France Takes the Lead in Banning, 91-Party Joint PFAROS Initiative Targets PFAS Destruction in Medical Wastewater

导语提要：覆盖约1万种物质的欧盟PFAS群体限制提案已完成公众咨询，欧洲化学品管理局（ECHA）预计2026年底前向欧盟委员会提交最终意见；法国已自2026年起率先禁止PFAS用于化妆品、纺织品和滑雪蜡；9月2日，比利时IBA宣布加入由91个伙伴组成的PFAROS欧洲研究计划，攻关医院与制药废水中PFAS的销毁与完全矿化。

Why Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Have Become the "Number One Challenge" for the Global Water Industry

PFAS are widely used in non-stick coatings, textiles, firefighting foams, semiconductor manufacturing, and thousands of other applications due to their chemical stability, which provides resistance to high temperatures, water, and oil. However, this same stability makes them nearly non-degradable in the natural environment, earning them the label "forever chemicals." PFAS have been widely detected in soil, water bodies, food, wildlife, and even the human body worldwide, and are associated with health effects including thyroid disease, immune suppression, certain cancers, and reduced fertility.

For the wastewater treatment industry, the PFAS challenge is systemic: conventional Activated Sludge processes have virtually no removal capacity for PFAS, making treated effluent and sludge one of the primary pathways for PFAS to enter natural water bodies. Meanwhile, the detection side faces multiple pressures, including an ever-expanding list of analytes, complex matrix interferences, and difficulties in trace-level (parts per trillion) quantification. Regulatory tightening is therefore unfolding simultaneously across the entire chain—from raw materials and water supply to wastewater discharge.

EU Universal Restriction Enters the Legislative Fast Track: Approximately 1万 Substances Face Production, Placement, and Use Restrictions

According to a topical briefing issued by the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) in 7月 14日, the PFAS restriction proposal jointly submitted by Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway under the EU REACH framework covers approximately 1万 substances containing fluorine, making it the largest chemical restriction proposal in EU history. The proposal in principle prohibits the manufacture, placement on the market, and use of PFAS, while providing transition periods and industry exemptions for application areas where no alternatives are yet available. The public consultation closed on 2026年 5月 25日, and ECHA is currently reviewing the draft restriction opinion, with the final opinion expected to be submitted to the European Commission by the end of 2026年. Thereafter, the European Parliament will examine the specific regulatory proposal put forward by the Commission.

Beyond the legislative level, member states are "moving ahead of the curve": France has already adopted standalone legislation banning PFAS in cosmetics, textiles, and ski waxes effective 2026年, with the ban extending to all textiles in 2030年. More member states are following suit, creating a coordinated tightening trend across the EU.

Constraints on the water supply side have already taken effect: the PFAS monitoring requirements of the EU Recast Drinking Water Directive have applied since 2026年 1月 12日, setting a limit of 0.10 micrograms per liter for "PFAS Total" and 0.50 micrograms per liter for "Sum of PFAS." This means water supply and wastewater utilities in the EU must identify PFAS sources at the front end, deploy targeted removal processes at the treatment stage, and bear higher testing and compliance costs.

PFAROS Initiative Launched: 91 Partners Jointly Tackle PFAS Destruction in Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Wastewater

On 9月 2日, IBA (Ion Beam Applications), a global leader in particle accelerator technology based in Belgium, announced its joining of the PFAROS European research and innovation initiative. Funded by the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking (IHI JU), the initiative brings together 91 European and international partners from industry, academia, healthcare institutions, regulatory bodies, and civil society, with Ghent University serving as the academic lead. The goal is to reduce PFAS emissions and environmental exposure across the entire lifecycle of healthcare products.

IBA will co-lead the "End-of-Lifecycle and Waste Management Technologies" work package together with Bayer, evaluating the PFAS destruction capability of its electron beam and Rhodotron® accelerator technologies. The technical roadmap covers:

• Hospital and Pharmaceutical Wastewater Treatment — Removal and destruction testing, development, and benchmarking for long-chain, short-chain, and ultrashort-chain PFAS;
• Pre-concentration and Advanced Treatment Combinations — Evaluating multi-process series configurations to support complete PFAS mineralization and byproduct control;
• Solid Matrix Treatment — Assessing thermal and non-thermal destruction pathways such as pyrolysis, gasification, electron beam, and plasma for non-recyclable medical waste, and screening the most scalable integrated treatment chains through laboratory-scale testing, sorting technology, and mechanical disposal evaluation.

What sets PFAROS apart is its "full life cycle" perspective: rather than focusing solely on end-of-pipe treatment at the wastewater stage, it forms a closed loop from source reduction in medical product design, to emission control during use, to destruction and disposal at the waste stage — all while ensuring that the quality, safety, and supply continuity of essential medical products remain unaffected.

Three Implications for China's Wastewater Treatment and Reclaimed Water Industry

First, detection and standards come first. The EU's 0.10 micrograms per liter "PFAS total" limit for drinking water represents the world's strictest regulatory benchmark. China's Standards for Drinking Water Quality (GB 5749-2022) has already incorporated PFAS into its reference indicator system. As the New Pollutants Control Action Plan advances, the demand for PFAS monitoring in wastewater treatment plant influent, effluent, and sludge will grow rapidly — the market for detection equipment and reagent kits merits close attention.

Second, "removal" and "destruction" are two distinct tracks. Mature processes such as Activated Carbon adsorption, ion exchange, and Reverse Osmosis can only achieve phase transfer and concentration of PFAS; the concentrated liquid and spent adsorption media remain hazardous waste. Destruction technologies such as electron beam, plasma, and supercritical water oxidation are designed to break carbon-fluorine bonds for complete mineralization — these are the true "endpoint solutions." PFAROS focuses precisely on the destruction end, and its technology validation results offer forward-looking reference value for the selection of new pollutant treatment technology routes globally, including in China.

Third, compliance pressure across industry segments will be released in a differentiated manner. Wastewater treatment demand in PFAS-intensive sectors such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, electroplating, semiconductors, and firefighting will bear the pressure first. Centralized wastewater treatment facilities in Industrial Parks need to assess in advance the impact of PFAS influent loading on existing processes and sludge disposal pathways — this echoes the source-separated and zone-specific management approach emphasized in China's Technical Guideline for the Formulation of Water Pollutant Discharge Standards for Centralized Wastewater Treatment Facilities in Industrial Parks (HJ 945.4-2026, effective 2026年9月1日).

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