OECD Publishes Draft Report on PFAS and Alternatives in Coatings, Paints, and Varnishes
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published a draft report entitled Draft Report on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Alternatives in Coatings, Paints and Varnishes (CPVs): Hazard Profile. OECD intends the draft report to complement its 2022 report, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Alternatives in Coatings, Paints and Varnishes (CPVs), by compiling information on the hazard profile of the fluoropolymers, short-chain PFAS, and non-fluorinated substances identified in terms of hazard classifications from authorities and industry and available assessments from authorities on persistence, bioaccumulation, and environmental and health hazards. OECD conducted the main search for this report from January to July 2022, and it revised the report based on feedback from stakeholders during January to March 2023.
According to the draft report, the study demonstrates that the hazard profiles of many of the fluoropolymers, short-chain PFAS, and non-fluorinated alternatives used in CPVs are not available. OECD states that “[o]ut of the 45 substances identified in the OECD (2022) report and examined here, only nine substances have been classified by authorities and 30 by industry, while published assessments by authorities were available for just over half of the fluorinated substances and a significantly lower proportion of the non-fluorinated alternatives. No classifications or hazard assessments were identified for 15 substances.”
OECD states that further assessment of potential health and environmental effects is required, given the lack of classification/assessment highlighted in its study. According to OECD, to support the shift toward safer substitutes, the elaboration of classification conclusions and assessment of the available persistence, bioaccumulation, and hazard information on alternatives and their dissemination is needed. OECD notes that screening approaches could also be employed using high-throughput methods and in vitro models and that pairing these with grouping approaches could “create efficiencies in the generation of information to support assessment.”