For nearly a century now, PFAS (perfluorinated- and polyfluorinated-alkyl substances) have been instrumental in the development of technology, from the household to the circuit board. PFAS are used extensively in the electronics industry in plastics, coatings, and parts due to their ability to enhance performance, resilience, lubrication, and other critical features. This is why PFAS are now found in virtually all branches of electrical and electronic products. This includes high-temperature, RF, high-speed digital, power, high-voltage, and other critical electronics markets. Parts such as capacitors, cables/wires, RF components, and semiconductor processing equipment have relied on PFAS to enable the latest capabilities.
The same resilience boosting features of PFAS, however, are posing a significant danger to human health and the environment. Over the past few decades, the bio-accumulative danger of PFAS has become increasingly clear. This is why many countries throughout the world have been incrementally regulating PFAS, banning their import/use, and otherwise trying to tackle this growing risk to human health and the environment. PFAS have been found in drinking water, soil samples, wildlife samples, and are now commonly found in humans.
Regulating PFAs has historically been challenging, as most regulatory methods rely on uniquely identifying chemicals using their chemical formula and their associated CAS (chemical abstract number) or European Chemical identifier. PFAS regulations have also been confusing to product manufacturers as PFAS definitions vary from region to region and cover up to tens of thousands of individual chemicals.
In 2021, The OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) published Reconciling Terminology of the Universe of Per- and Polyfluoralkyl substances: Recommendations and Practical Guidance. This report summarizes the efforts to reconcile terminology around PFAS and to provide practical recommendations to identify PFAS to better manage them. In their report, the OECD noted that over 4,730 PFAS with CAS have been identified.
In Europe, some targeted PFAS have been regulated under a variety of measures:
- EU’s Persistent Organic Pollutants regulation (“POPs”; which some refer to as the Stockholm Convention on POPs) restricts PFOS, PFOA, and PFHxS.
- EU REACH Restrictions (Annex XVII) restrict C9-14 PFCAs.
- EU REACH Substances of Very High Concern (“SVHC”, also know as the “Candidate List” as they are “candidates” for the Authorization list—Annex XIV)) contain six PFAS chemicals including one which is a substitute for PFOA. Using parts with SVHC obligate manufacturers to report the SVHC to downstream entities in the supply chain.
The European regulations continue to expand around PFAS. There is currently a proposal to restrict more than 10,000 PFAS substances under REACH. The European Chemical Agency (ECHA) is evaluating the proposal now and the massive group of PFAS are on track to be added to the REACH restricted substance list (Annex XVII) in 2025 or after. The handling of these is interesting as they would be directly added to the restricted substance list without going through the Candidate List to Authorization List to Restricted substance list process.
In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified at least 1,462 PFAS that are known to have been made in the US or used in the US. The EPA is taking an extraordinary measure to require the reporting of past PFAS use that will likely lead to more substantial PFAS regulation in the future.
The EPA has enacted a rule leveraging the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a)(7). This new rule requires a one-time electronically submitted report from any entity that manufactured or imported PFAS or PFAS containing articles for the 11 years between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2022.
Manufacturers are to report PFAS use during the eleven year time period via the online CDX tool by May 8, 2025 (November 10, 2025 for entities with less than $120MM in annual revenues).
Most electronic product manufacturers will qualify for streamlined reporting which requires completing two parts:
- Part I: a certification statement containing company, site, and contact information
- Part II (Sections A-C): to be completed for each PFAS used and includes PFAS identification, use, and imported volumes. See Instructions for Reporting PFAS under TSCA Section 8(a)(7) from the US EPA.
The records of this report are to be kept for five years from the reporting deadline. This new rule is sweeping and applies to product types in most industries including the electronics industry with few exemptions, such as medical devices.
Accuris, powering workflows of electronic product manufacturers, has been collecting full material disclosure (FMD) for the parts in our 1.2 billion part database. Accuris reports finding occurrences of 33 PFAS in electronic parts in our parts database. Based on this information, Accuris has created the Accuris Electronics PFAS Inventory. Since we have assessed all the FMD to the broadest standard and found 33 PFAS in board level electronics, customers using our BOM Intelligence product can assess their parts against this much smaller PFAS set. This greatly simplifies project tasks.
For reference, the following table summarizes the number of PFAS chemicals covered under various regulations around the world, by OECD, and the number of PFAS chemicals found in board-level electronic components.
The area of PFAS regulations will continue to develop over the next several years. It is critical to have a comprehensive approach to PFAS for electronic products in order to meet short term and longer term compliance regulations. Chat with one of our representatives today about solutions for managing parts and complying with PFAS regulations.
Resources:
1. Key EPA Actions to Address PFAS
2. TSCA Section 8(a)(7) Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements for Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
3. Listing of Specific PFAS as Hazardous Constituents
4. PFAS Strategic Roadmap: EPA’s Commitments to Action 2021-2024
5. OECD Reconciling Terminology of the Universe of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: Recommendations and Practical Guidance; 9 July 2021