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France's parliament votes to ban some uses of 'forever chemicals'
France's parliament votes to ban some uses of 'forever chemicals'
By Stephanie Lerouge
Paris (AFP) Feb 20, 2025

France's parliament on Thursday voted to limit the production and sale of some items containing polluting and health-threatening "forever chemicals" including cosmetics, most clothing and ski wax in the Alpine nation.

The lower-house National Assembly adopted the bill put forward by the Greens 231 votes to 51, after the upper-house Senate gave it a green light last year.

President Emmanuel Macron still needs to sign it into law.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are human-made chemicals used since the late 1940s to mass produce the non-stick, waterproof and stain-resistant treatments that coat everything from frying pans to umbrellas, carpets, dental floss and ski wax.

Because PFAS take an extremely long time to break down -- earning them their "forever" nickname -- they have seeped into the soil and groundwater, and from there into the food chain and drinking water.

These chemicals have been detected virtually everywhere on Earth, from the top of Mount Everest to inside human blood and brains.

Chronic exposure to even low levels of the chemicals has been linked to liver damage, high cholesterol, reduced immune responses, low birthweights and several kinds of cancer.

The French bill aims to prevent the production, import or sale from January 2026 of any product for which an alternative to PFAS already exists.

These include cosmetics and ski wax, as well as clothing containing the chemicals, except certain "essential" industrial textiles.

A ban on non-stick saucepans was originally included in the draft law, but removed after intense lobbying from the group that owns French manufacturer Tefal.

It will also make French authorities regularly test drinking water for all kinds of PFAS.

There are thousands of different PFAS.

Under new EU regulations from next year, member states will have to test their water for 20 types.

But the French law could allow analysis to check for further types in water if needed.

In January, a study found that a type of "forever chemical" linked to health problems and birth defects has been found in the tap water of many French cities and towns including Paris.

A 2023 study of snow and soil samples in Austria found that skiers using ski wax containing PFAS to glide faster down the slopes were contaminating runways and soil in remote Alpine areas.

It however added that a much smaller quantity could also be deposited from the atmosphere.

The European Union has been studying a possible ban on the use of PFAS in consumer products, but has not yet implemented such regulation.

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