Abstract
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, or Forever Chemicals) are among the most pervasive synthetic compounds ever manufactured, found everywhere, from food, cookware, clothes and cosmetics to semiconductors, medical products and building materials. Despite mounting scientific evidence linking their inescapable presence in modern life to cancer, infertility, immune disruption and lasting environmental contamination, the law has struggled to keep pace.
In this seminar, Environmental Lawyer Ifigeneia Tsakalogianni presents her ongoing doctoral research, proposing a three-stage regulatory architecture for addressing PFAS across their lifecycle. The first stage examines how fundamental EU Environmental and Chemicals Law principles and case law, alongside concepts such as ‘essential use’ from the Montreal Protocol (1987), form the legal basis for a structured PFAS phase-out. The second stage explores how established schemes, such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and newer instruments, including the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework, eco-design, and ESG and corporate sustainability obligations, can push the prevention of chemical hazard into the product design and production processes. The third stage turns to accountability: analysing the ‘polluter pays’ principle and landmark PFAS litigation from DuPont (USA) to the Miteni (Italy) and 3M (Belgium) scandals to identify where liability frameworks currently fall short, and how they might be strengthened.
Participate
This online seminar is open to all interested!