Germany

 

Germany addresses chemical risk management mainly through EU regulations; and is engaging in dialogues with stakeholders to exchange information and signal to industry concerns related to PFASs and to convey information to the public. These dialogues include the feasibility of alternatives. In addition, Germany developed threshold and guide values to limit the amount of PFCAs and PFSAs in drinking water and sludge and developed a background document Do without per-and polyfluorinated chemicals and prevent their discharge into the environment.

Germany and fire-fighting associations compiled a leaflet on PFCs in fire-fighting. These programmes have resulted in an increased awareness of the risks associated with certain PFASs by industry, NGOs and the public. In developing these approaches, challenges that Germany has encountered include the number of chemicals within the PFAS group, the multitude of uses of the substances, and the availability of data.

COMPARISON OF RISK REDUCTION APPROACHES FOR PFASs ACROSS DELEGATIONS
Action	Path taken	BEPs Implemented	Category of PFASss addressed	Articles covered?	Life cycle stage(s) addressed	Method of approach	Public- private partnership encouraged?	Level of constraint
Dialogue with stakeholders to exchange information and convey concern re PFASs, and provide information to public Link to 2013 Guide: Environmentally responsible use of luorinated fire-fighting foams	Increase awareness for industry and public	No information available	All PFASs	Yes	Whole life cycle	Dialogue	Yes?	None
Threshold and guide values for different media, e.g. drinking water and sludge	Manage exposure	Water management, off-gas and solid waste management	Perfluoroalkyl carboxylic and Sulfonic acids	No	Product use; Product disposal	Regulatory	No	Water treatment measures Monitoring

 

NATIONAL RESOURCES ON ALTERNATIVES

Do without perfluorinated chemicals and prevent their discharge into the environment