Swedish Chemicals Agency adds 5700 PFAS substances to PRIO database

On 15 November 2023, the Swedish Chemicals Agency (KEMI) expanded its PRIO database by adding 5700 new per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This update brings the total number of PFAS substances in the database to nearly 11,000. The comprehensive database serves as a valuable resource to help producers and purchasers identify which substances to avoid.

The PRIO database

The PRIO database is a web-based tool that contains more than 16,500 hazardous substances. It lists chemical substances with properties that are hazardous to human health and the environment. Although it is not a complete list of all hazardous or banned substances present in products on the market, PRIO primarily helps users to identify hazardous substances that are not yet banned in the EU. The database can be searched here.

Substances in the PRIO database are categorised into the following two priority levels:

• Phase-out substances: These are the substances with the most hazardous properties, recommended by KEMI for substitution by less hazardous substances or alternative technical solutions. The criteria include:

  • CMR category 1A or 1B

  • Fluorinated greenhouse gases

  • Endocrine disrupting

  • Highly allergenic (Respiratory sensitising category 1A or skin sensitising category 1A)

  • Ozone depleting             

  • Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) and very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB)

  • Particularly hazardous metals (mercury, cadmium, lead, and their compounds)

  • PFAS

• Priority risk-reduction substances: These are less hazardous but require proper handling to reduce the risk of unnecessary exposure. Criteria for priority risk-reduction substances can be found here.

PFAS in PRIO

The list of PFAS substances in PRIO should not be considered as an exhaustive inventory of all PFAS substances found worldwide, but it contains nearly 11,000 PFAS substances that are consistent with the OECD's 2021 definition of PFAS. The list of PFASs in PRIO can be downloaded here.

The OECD's definition of PFAS was also used in the EU’s PFAS restriction proposal to ban the manufacture and sale of PFAS in the EU, which was submitted to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) by Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, and the Netherlands in February 2023.