Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)
The class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) consists of several thousand different substances. Some PFASs have been identified as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC); in many cases the effects on humans and the environment are less well known. However, all PFASs are virtually non-degradable in the environment. In line with the precautionary principle, their use should be limited to those for which no alternatives have yet been found. The release of PFASs into the environment must be minimised as far as possible.
General information
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) impart water-, grease- and dirt-repellent properties to surfaces and they are characterised by high thermal and chemical stability. They are therefore often used for the coating of textiles and paper products. In combating fires involving flammable chemicals, combustibles and fuels, PFAS-based fire-fighting foams provide a good extinguishing effect and a high resistance to re-ignition.
They also serve as processing aids in the production of fluoropolymers and are used in many other industrial processes and products. PFASs are composed of carbon chains of different lengths in which the hydrogen atoms are either completely (perfluorinated) or partially (polyfluorinated) replaced (substituted) by fluorine atoms. Under environmental conditions, perfluorinated substances can be formed from polyfluorinated substances through metabolic processes in organisms or abiotic degradation processes. Perfluorinated substances are extremely persistent in the environment. Two well-studied substances in the group of C8 fluorochemicals, namely perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), were also found to be toxic and to accumulate in biota via the food chain. In addition, they are now detectable in the environment in many aquatic and terrestrial organisms and in humans worldwide. Nowadays, other PFASs, especially those in the group of C6 fluorochemicals, are used instead of PFOS and its derivatives or instead of PFOA and its precursors.
Further general information on PFASs, as well as information on their health effects and their occurrence in water, soil, contaminated sites and waste, can also be found under
PFASs – what are they? (available in German, French and Italian).
Legal basis
1. Regulated per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
Annex 1.16 of the Chemical Risk Reduction Ordinance (ORRChem, SR 814.81) currently regulates perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and its derivatives, perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and its precursors, as well as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) and perfluorocarboxylic acids with 9 to 14 carbon atoms (C9–C14 PFCAs) including their precursors. This annex also imposes consumer protection restrictions on fluoroalkylsilanols and their derivatives in solvent-containing preparations applied through spraying.
PFOS and its derivatives
In 2009, the fourth Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs Convention) decided to list PFOS and its derivatives in Annex B (restrictions) under the Convention. Restrictions came into force in Switzerland in 2011. The phase-out has been completed.
PFHxS and its precursors
The decision to list perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and its precursors in Annex A (elimination) to the Stockholm Convention was taken at the tenth Conference of the Parties in 2022. According to the provisions of the ORRChem, which have been in force since 1 October 2022, the production, placing on the market and use of PFHxS and its precursors is prohibited. In preparations and objects, limit concentrations of 0.025 ppm of PFHxS or 1 ppm of PFHxS precursors are allowed.
PFOA and its precursors
In 2019, the ninth Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention decided to list PFOA and its precursors in Annex A (elimination) to the Convention. In the same year, the ORRChem was amended to include general bans on the production, placing on the market and use of PFOA and its precursor compounds. The amendments came into force on 1 June 2021. The latest amendment of the ORRChem of 23 February 2022 took into account exemptions based on the current availability of alternative substances. According to these regulations, preparations and articles may contain no more than 0.025 ppm of PFOA or 1 ppm of PFOA precursors, with exemptions for certain products where a substitution or the necessary minimisation of the substances is currently not possible. Swiss regulations are in line with those laid down in Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 on persistent organic pollutants (POPs Regulation).
C₉–C₁₄ PFCAs and their precursors
Perfluorocarboxylic acids with 9 to 14 carbon atoms (C9–C14 PFCAs) also have very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB) and/or persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) properties. Therefore, once the ban on PFOA and its precursors entered into force in June 2021, the aim was to prevent non-European suppliers of objects containing fluoropolymers and of finished textiles, paper and cardboard goods from switching to longer-chain perfluoroalkyl acids or using insufficiently purified C6 fluorotelomer derivatives that contain long-chain homologues as by-products. In accordance with the provisions of Annex XVII of the REACH Regulation, the production, placing on the market and use of C9–C14 PFCAs and its precursors were therefore also banned in Switzerland. Preparations and articles may only contain concentrations of no more than 0.025 ppm of the sum of regulated PFCAs or 1 ppm of the sum of their precursors. In principle, the same time-limited exemptions apply to C9–C14 PFCAs as to PFOA and its precursors; additional exemptions for C9–C14 PFCAs are only specified for certain fluoropolymer uses.
PFHxA and its precursor compounds
In accordance with the provisions of Annex XVII of the EU REACH Regulation, the manufacture and placing on the market of PFHxA and its precursors has been regulated for certain uses in Switzerland since December 2025. A transitional period until 31 October 2026 applies for the supply of preparations. Further transition periods apply to the placing on the market of certain items. As with PFOA and C9–C14 PFCAs, affected preparations and articles may contain a maximum of 0.025 ppm PFHxA or 1 ppm of the sum of their precursors. In contrast to the restriction in the EU, PFHxA and its precursors are currently not regulated in fire-fighting foam concentrates in Switzerland. However, a current regulatory proposal aims to restrict all PFASs (including PFHxA) in fire-fighting foam concentrates in Switzerland.
Fluoroalkyl silanes and their derivatives
Swiss regulations on (tridecafluorooctyl)silanetriol and its mono-, di- or tri-O-(alkyl) derivatives (TDFA) are also harmonised with those in the EU. Because the use of spray products containing TDFA and organic solvents can cause severe acute lung damage in consumers, as of 1 December 2020, spray packages (aerosol packages, pump sprays, trigger sprays) may no longer be supplied to the general public if they contain organic solvents in combination with more than 2 ppb of TDFA. In order to ensure that professional users of these C6 fluorochemicals are aware of the specific hazard associated with the use of these mixtures, it was also stipulated that spray packages must be labelled ‘Fatal if inhaled’.
2. Updating legislation
Even though some long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids and their precursors, as well as PFHxA and its precursors, are already regulated in Switzerland, there are still concerns about other PFASs in the latest generation of fire-fighting foam concentrates. In autumn 2025, the EU therefore decided to restrict all PFASs in fire-fighting foam applications. In Switzerland, the Federal Council also proposed the implementation of such a regulation. Furthermore, it was proposed that the permitted mass concentrations in preparations containing PFOS and its derivatives (or precursors) to be aligned with those of the EU. As for PFHxS, PFOA, C9–C14 PFCAs and PFHxA, a maximum content of 0.025 ppm PFOS or 1 ppm for the sum of all precursors would apply to preparations and articles.
In addition, it was proposed to regulate all PFASs in food contact materials intended for single use as well as the manufacture, placing on the market, and use of C15–C21 PFCAs and their respective precursors.