Tuttlingen – Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, PFAS for short: They are the focus of a restriction procedure by ECHA. This can have significant consequences for medical technology, both in terms of products and manufacturing processes. An online event on April 26 will provide an update on this.
PFAS are extremely stable compounds. They cannot be broken down naturally, accumulate in the environment and can thus become a health risk for people. The ECHA is therefore striving to completely ban this extensive group of substances in the longer term. This has several consequences for medical technology. On the one hand, medical products containing PFAS are threatened with extinction, because no substitute with the same properties has been available so far. On the other hand, companies whose products are actually PFAS-free can also be affected: PFAS can also be found in auxiliary and operating materials or as part of production plants. If they are no longer allowed to be used in these areas, this would have far-reaching effects on production in general.
A free online information event on April 26 will go into more detail on these topics. Joint organizers are the Med Alliance BW, the nationwide expert initiative for the implementation of regulatory requirements, and the MIK - MDR & IVDR Competence Center. Medical Mountains GmbH first examines the current status and the further course of the restriction procedure. An example from the industry is used to show which medical products and where in production PFAS are used and how the restriction is dealt with. The NMI Natural Science and Medical Institute at the University of Tübingen shows ways to replace PFAS and addresses the need for development in terms of materials and analytics.
The online information event "PFAS: Can medical devices still be produced without them?" begins on April 26 at 5:00 p.m. Registrations are possible at https://medicalmountains.de/PFAS-Medtalk.
