Fluoropolymers: The Safe Science That Society Needs journal article open-access Jaime Sales, Francisco Hernández, Deepak Kapoor, Marcel van den Noort International Chemical Regulatory and Law Review, Volume 5 (2022), Issue 1, Page 13 - 23 Fluoropolymers are high value chemicals that provide a wide variety of properties in key industrial sectors. These chemicals are indispensable to guarantee the adequate functioning of modern society, with key contributions in safety, decarbonization, and high-tech development. Due to their chemical composition and structure, fluoropolymers match the definition of the PFAS group of substances. However, this definition was originally not intended for regulatory purposes. Indeed, this group of substances is currently under heavy pressure due to the fact that some other chemicals in the group have raised environmental concerns in the past. However, fluoropolymers show clearly differentiated properties from other PFAS, and the vast majority of these polymers have been identified as matching the definition of Polymer of Low Concern. Fluoropolymers are not expected to degrade during normal use or at their end of life, and the main concerns related to their manufacture are being successfully addressed by industry, with innovative developments in both safer designs and improvement of abatement techniques to control emissions.
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