Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used in a wide range of different industrial and consumer applications. However, due to their extreme environmental persistence and their impacts on human and ecosystem health, PFAS have been subject to many regulatory activities, including initiatives to incentivize industry to transition toward PFAS-free alternatives. Although efforts have been made to map all uses of PFAS, work is still needed to provide an overview of their potential alternatives. Based on the functional substitution approach, this study develops an online database that documents all known uses of PFAS, describes the functions provided by PFAS in these uses, lists potential alternatives that can deliver equivalent or similar functions to PFAS, and evaluates the suitability of the identified alternatives to replace PFAS. Overall, the database lists 325 different applications of PFAS across 18 use categories. In total, 530 PFAS-free alternatives are identified. Based on a screening of potential concerns of the identified alternatives, their performance compared to PFAS, and their availability on the market, it is concluded that potentially suitable alternatives to PFAS are available for 40 different applications. For 83 applications, no alternatives could be identified at the time of the study and should be the focus of further research activities.

Measures are needed to protect water sources from substances that are mobile, persistent and toxic (PMT) or very persistent and very mobile (vPvM). PMT/vPvM substances are used in a diverse range of applications, including consumer products. The combined application of the essential-use and functional substitution concepts has been proposed to phase out substances of concern and support the transition to safer and more sustainable chemicals, a key goal of the European Commission’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. Here, we first identified the market share of PMT/vPvM containing cosmetic products. We found that 6.4% of cosmetic products available on the European market contain PMT or vPvM substances. PMT/vPvM substances were most often found in hair care products. Based on their high occurrence, the substances Allura red (CAS 25956-17-6), benzophenone-4 (CAS 4065-45-6) and climbazole (CAS 38083-17-9) were selected as case-studies for assessment of their functionality, availability of safer alternatives and essentiality. Following the functional substitution framework, we found that the technical function of Allura red was not necessary for the performance of some cosmetic products, making the use non-essential. For other applications of Allura red, as well as all applications of benzophenone-4 and climbazole, the technical function of the chemical was considered necessary for the performance. Via the alternative’s assessment procedure, which used experimental and in silico data and three different multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) strategies, safer alternatives were identified for all case-study chemicals. All assessed uses of PMT/vPvM substances were thus deemed non-essential and should consequently be phased out.

By taking the example of the substitution of fluorinated gases used as foam blowing agents in insulation materials as a case study, here we aim to apply and adapt a well-known multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method used for chemical alternatives assessment known as the multi attribute utility theory (MAUT) approach. The functional substitution approach was followed to define the functions delivered by fluorinated gases in insulation materials, and the ZeroPM alternatives database was used to identify functional alternatives. Data on environmental impacts along the life cycle, and the technical performance of the identified alternatives were collected based on previous literature reviews on insulation materials. The MAUT approach was used to compare the different alternatives. Four decision-making scenarios were defined in order to illustrate the flexibility of the MAUT method for the assessment of functional alternatives. Overall, 32 alternative materials to polyethene foams and extruded polystyrene foams containing fluorinated gases were identified. 9 insulation materials were shortlisted for further evaluation based on the amount of data available. Overall, alternatives ranked better than polyethene foams and extruded polystyrene foams in every decision-making scenarios tested in this study, suggesting that suitable and safer alternatives to fluorinated gases used in insulation foams can be identified. This work highlights how the choices made by the decision-maker to develop a MAUT model influence the final ranking of the alternatives being evaluated. This might be highly relevant in a regulatory context as the availability of suitable alternatives is a critical part in the decision-making on bans of harmful substances. Although promising in the field of alternatives assessment in a regulatory context, further work is needed to develop appropriate guidance for using MAUT methods to identify suitable alternatives to substances of concern.

The Stockholm Convention and the EU REACH Regulation are two key pieces of legislation on chemicals at the global and European level, respectively. Discussions have taken place on how to improve them and make them more efficient. For instance, the European Commission is considering implementing the “essential-use” concept in the REACH Regulation to guide decision-making for phasing-out the uses of the most harmful chemicals. Here we shed light on how the “essential-use” concept may alter and improve existing regulation by evaluating how existing regulatory outcomes would compare to outcomes derived using the concept and by identifying reasons for discrepancies, including a case study. Overall, this study suggests that existing regulations already consider elements of the concept in their decision-making, and that no drastic changes in the processes are necessary to implement the concept. For the authorities to properly assess the uses of a substance of concern, the industry would need to provide more technical information if they wish to obtain a derogation for their use, similar to the REACH Authorisation process. Further work should investigate what kind of and how much information would be enough to determine whether a use is necessary for health and safety, or is critical for the functioning of society.