20 October 2015
OECD/UNEP Group Reports on PFCs
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The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Global PFC Group has issued two reports to raise awareness among governments, the private sector and civil society regarding perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), and in support of Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management's (SAICM) work on PFCs as an "issue of concern."

oecd_unep29 September 2015: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Global PFC Group has issued two reports to raise awareness among governments, the private sector and civil society regarding perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), and in support of Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management’s (SAICM) work on PFCs as an “issue of concern.” The reports were released during the Fourth International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM4), which took place in Geneva, Switzerland the 28 September-2 October 2015.

The first report provides an overview of current activities among countries developing risk reduction approaches for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), based on responses to a survey from 13 OECD member States, the EU and China, with non-survey information added for the Russian Federation. The survey looked at the pre-existing conditions necessary for the development and implementation of different risk reduction approaches, the strengths of different approaches and any benefits gained, and the challenges faced during their development and implementation.

The second report looks at current and prospective efforts to build a global emissions inventory for PFASs, using perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) as a reference point to present an overall picture of global and regional emissions of PFASs and related fluorinated substances due to the many interlinkages between PFCAs and other fluorinated substances. The report identifies critical gaps and key uncertainties regarding data collection and integration, and offers recommendations for improving knowledge on PFASs emissions.

The OECD/UNEP Global PFC Group was formed in response to requests from ICCM2 and ICCM3, which addressed PFCs as an issue of concern.

PFCs are widely used as ingredients or intermediates of surfactants and surface protectors for many industrial and consumer applications, and in recent years several have been identified as highly persistent, potentially bioaccumulative and toxic. [Publication: Risk Reduction Approaches for PFASs – A Cross-Country Analysis] [Publication: Working Towards A Global Emission Inventory of PFASs: Focus on PFCAs – Status Quo and the Way Forward] [IISD RS Coverage of ICCM4]


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