PFAS in the medical products chain
In the project Source to Seas - Zero Pollution 2030 (SOS ZEROPOL) we are developing a stakeholder-driven framework with practical guidance to the European Commission for achieving zero pollution in European Seas by 2030. The aim of the framework will be to address gaps and shortcomings in the management and governance of marine pollution from source to sea.
Contaminants can have very different origins and physical shapes. The group of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is large and diverse. PFAS are an example of persistent organic chemicals, which have in common that they do hardly or not at all degrade under conditions in the natural environment. When striving to zero pollution, we must understand the role that PFAS play in the entire value chain: why do we produce and use these chemicals, and how do emissions end up in the environment?
To understand how various stakeholders have their own part to play, we organized a two-day session with stakeholders in a specific field, medical supplies. Together we discussed and analysed the presence of PFAS, potential emissions thereof, and main actors in the stages of the product chain.
The infographic below gives an overview of the role of PFAS in the product chain for some specific categories of medical supplies.