PFAS Substances: A Closer Look at Inventory and Analysis Obligations for Substances Present in ICPEs Subject to Authorization

Effective June 28, 2023, the order of June 20, 2023, concerning the analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the aqueous discharges of classified facilities for environmental protection subject to authorization establishes a requirement to identify and measure PFAS present in ICPEs subject to authorization.

What are PFAS?

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are part of a family containing over 4,000 chemical compounds with multiple properties, including non-stick, waterproofing, and high heat resistance. They are widely used in many industrial sectors such as chemical production, surface treatment, and textiles, and are therefore found in various everyday consumer products.

Highly persistent, PFAS are found in all environments: water, air, soil, and even waste sent to treatment facilities. They therefore pose significant environmental and public health challenges.

Ministerial Action Plan on PFAS

At the beginning of 2023, the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion published a ministerial action plan on PFAS for the period 2023 – 2027. This action plan aims to better understand PFAS and quantify these substances in order to establish measures for their reduction. It thus aims to strengthen the protection of public health and the environment against the risks associated with exposure to PFAS.

The action plan consists of 6 lines of action:

• establish standards for discharges and environmental media to guide public action;
• advocate at the European level for a broad ban to eliminate risks associated with the use or placing on the market of PFAS ;
• enhance understanding of emissions and environmental contamination, particularly in aquatic environments, to reduce population exposure;
• significantly reduce emissions from industrial emitters;
• transparency regarding available information;
• medium-term integration into the micropollutant plan.

Requirements for identifying and analyzing PFAS in aqueous discharges

As part of this action plan, the order of June 20, 2023, requires authorized ICPEs to conduct an inventory of PFAS used, produced, treated, or discharged by the facility, and then to carry out measurement campaigns of these substances in aqueous discharges.

This order applies to classified facilities subject to authorization under at least one of the following headings: 2330, 2345, 2350, 2351, 2567, 2660, 2661, 2750, 2752, 2760, 2790, 2791, 2795, 3120, 3230, 3260, 3410, 3420, 3440, 3450, 3510, 3531, 3532, 3540, 3560, 3610, 3620, 3630, 3670, 3710 or 4713. Other facilities subject to authorization are also covered if they use, produce, treat, or discharge PFAS.

Subsequently, a guidance note of the decree was published to specify how to draw up the inventory of substances PFAS and to implement measurement campaigns in aqueous discharges. The note also refers to databases for identifying substances PFAS based on the industry sector.

PFAS Identification Requirement

Any operator of an ICPE subject to authorization must establish, before September 28, 2023, an inventory of substances PFAS that are used, produced, processed, or discharged by the facility. This list must also include PFAS substances that were used, produced, processed, or discharged before June 28, 2023, as well as, where applicable, the date on which they may have been discharged.

Please note: this obligation applies to all classified facilities subject to authorization, even those whose categories are not expressly targeted.

The inventory must be made available to the classified facilities inspection.

Aqueous Discharge Analysis Requirement

The operator must carry out analysis campaigns for PFAS substances discharged by their facility. These campaigns include one measurement per month for 3 months at each aqueous discharge point of the facility, according to the deadlines defined below. Only uncontaminated rainwater is not subject to the analysis requirement.

Note: if the same establishment is subject to authorization under several categories with different deadlines, the longest deadline applies.

As soon as aqueous discharges are present within the establishment, the operator of a facility with at least one expressly targeted category must carry out these campaigns, even if the inventory demonstrates the absence of use, production, processing, or discharge of substances PFAS.

For other ICPEs subject to authorization, PFAS substance analysis campaigns are implemented when the discharges of PFAS are likely to be regular and significant. Thus, occasional operations that may generate discharges of substances PFAS, such as the use of fire-fighting foams during a fire, do not justify the implementation of analysis campaigns. Conversely, if these facilities conduct recurring fire drills using fire-fighting foams containing PFAS, analysis campaigns for aqueous discharges must be carried out.

When facilities have no aqueous discharges, analyses are not mandatory. However, the operator must still conduct a substance inventory and make available to the classified facilities inspection all documentation justifying the absence of aqueous discharges on the site.

Measurement campaigns must cover at least the substances PFAS covered by Directive 2020/2184 of 16 December 2020 on the quality of water intended for human consumption and listed in the order of 20 June 2023. When other substances PFAS are mentioned in the inventory, they must also be taken into account for analyses.

Measurement results must be reported monthly to the classified facilities inspection via the GIDAF tool. Affected sites must ensure they can effectively report results using the tool, especially facilities that do not yet have a GIDAF account.

To learn more

In the spirit of the RSDE campaigns, the objective of these campaigns is:

• to identify the substances PFAS discharged by industries most likely to release them, such as chemical manufacturing, textile processing, surface treatment, paper mills, wastewater treatment plants, and waste treatment.
• and then, to implement monitoring and follow-up measures for PFAS in aqueous discharges.

These campaigns should therefore lead to the implementation of ongoing monitoring of substance discharges PFAS from industrial activities.

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