An international governing body has added a new chemical to its banned list of "forever chemicals," which will impact the way products are made worldwide.
According to the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, between parties to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions have led to the addition of long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (or PFCAs) to the banned list of forever chemicals.
Forever chemicals are a collection of harmful substances that stay in the environment forever and can have profoundly harmful effects on the environment and on humans.
"This is a step in the right direction, especially since PFCAs encompass around 200 compounds," said Giulia Carlini, a legal expert at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). "But tens of thousands of other PFAS chemicals remain completely unregulated."
PFCAs are found in many products, including firefighting foam, textiles, cosmetics, and food packaging, and the ban will take effect at the start of 2026. However, there are exceptions built into the ban — in semiconductors for replacement parts in combustion engines, for example — that will last another five years beyond the start of the overarching ban.
"We cannot afford five more years of poisoning," Carlini warned. "These substances will continue to accumulate in the environment and in living organisms. Even if PFAS production stopped tomorrow, we'd still be dealing with their consequences for decades."
A total of 186 parties were part of the Stockholm Convention — 185 countries and the European Union. Of those countries, 152 signed it, and many have ratified it into law. Notably, the United States signed the Convention's pledges but has not ratified it, so the U.S. is not bound by its restrictions.
PFAS, like PFCAs, do not break down in nature and linger for generations. Studies have shown they can have serious impacts on the human endocrine system. They've been found in food grown in Switzerland, among other places, making their regulation even more important.
The delegates of the conference in Geneva aren't done yet; they plan to meet again in August to resume negotiations to get more harmful chemicals on the banned list.
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