New amendments to the POPs Regulation: addition of UV-328 restriction and modification of the PFOA entry for intermediate deadlines and firefighting foams

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/843 issued by the European Commission has revised Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 concerning persistent organic pollutants (POPs), designating UV-328 - a widely utilised ultraviolet additive in plastic products and industrial coatings - as a banned substance.

The update is based on the decision made at the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention (May 2023), which added UV-328 to Annex A of the Convention. Since the substance was already listed in Annex XIV, and without REACH authorizations, its use is not permitted within the European Union.

To ensure a manageable transition and allow for the replacement of the substance, the Commission has provided exemptions for the use and marketing until August 4, 2030, which concern specific articles, including:

• Land motor vehicles and their industrial coatings;
• Mechanical separators for blood collection tubes;
• Cellulose triacetate sheets used in polarizers;
• Photographic paper;
• Aircraft (civil and military);
• Spare parts for industrial applications and instruments with liquid crystal displays.

Furthermore, articles containing UV-328 already in use at the time of the exemption's expiration may continue to be used beyond that date.

Decreasing limits have been set for the presence of unintentional contaminants in substances, mixtures, or articles:

• 100 mg/kg from August 4, 2025;
• 10 mg/kg from 2027;
• 1 mg/kg from 2029.

In addition to the introduction of UV-328, with the publication of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1399, the entry for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts, and related compounds in Annex I of the POPs Regulation has been modified.

The update focuses on two main areas of intervention:

• Extension of the exemption for the use of PFOA in firefighting foams, already installed in fixed and mobile systems for managing liquid fuel fires (class B). The deadline, initially set for July 4, 2025, has been postponed to December 3, 2025, as many operators reported difficulties in meeting the original deadline, also due to the complexity of measurements and the underestimation of residual volumes.
• Introduction of new temporary limits for unintentional contaminants (UTC) in firefighting foams and concentrates:
  • Until August 3, 2028:
    • 1 mg/kg for PFOA or each of its salts;
    • 10 mg/kg for each related compound or combination of related compounds.
  • For fluorine-free firefighting foams installed after the removal of those containing PFOA, a limit of 10 mg/kg is set for the sum of PFOA, salts, and related compounds, to account for any residual contamination.

In this case as well, the possibility of continuing to use articles already on the market by the exemption's expiration date is confirmed.

These recent regulatory changes reflect the evolution of European standards on hazardous substances, with the primary goal of protecting health and the environment while considering industrial needs.

Companies should monitor exemption deadlines and updated concentration limits, and adjust procurement, use, and disposal strategies as appropriate.