In one of the biggest SIN List updates ever, ChemSec adds 370 new “forever chemicals” to the list. In doing so, the staggering number of PFAS chemicals is boiled down to the most relevant ones for supply chain communication and substitution work.
Today, the number of individual PFAS chemicals on the SIN List increases from 46 to 416. Still, this is a small number compared to how many “forever chemicals” that are actually out there. Some scientists estimate that there are around 5,000 individual PFAS chemicals while others estimate them to be as many as 6 million.
“We want to make clear that we think every single PFAS should be phased out, no matter how many they are. But what this update aims for is to narrow them down to the most relevant couple of hundred substances for companies to keep track of”, says Dr. Anna Lennquist, Senior Toxicologist at ChemSec and project leader for the SIN List.
The determination to phase out “forever chemicals” is gaining momentum around the world. Over a hundred companies have come together to support a ban on PFAS and some of the world’s largest investment firms have sent out a letter to chemical companies encouraging them to stop the production of persistent chemicals.
“We’ve put a great emphasis on selecting the most relevant PFAS”
At the same time, five Member States of the European Union have submitted a comprehensive proposal to restrict PFAS in the EU.
One of the most progressive chemical standards in the world
The SIN List is a list of hazardous chemicals that are used in a wide variety of products and manufacturing processes around the globe. Since its creation in 2008, it has been used by professionals around the globe to identify chemicals that should be substituted. The SIN List is one of the most progressive chemical standards in the world, with four times as many harmful substances as the EU Candidate List.
As a guiding tool for chemical substitution, the SIN List focuses on identifying the most relevant hazardous substances for substitution work. Not only do they fulfil the EU criteria for being “substances of very high concern” (SVHCs), they also represent a large part of the chemicals market.
“This is especially true for this update. We’ve put a great emphasis on selecting the most relevant PFAS. This means that we’ve selected chemicals that we know are used or produced in Europe or the United States”, says Dr. Anna Lennquist.
The SIN List is developed by ChemSec in close collaboration with scientists and technical experts, as well as an advisory committee of leading environmental, health, and consumer organisations. The list is based on credible publicly available information from existing databases and scientific studies.
