Chemours tries to block EU’s ‘forever chemicals’ ban, says NGO

By Leonie Cater | 01/14/2025 04:15 PM EST

The company behind the Teflon brand is leading a push against a proposed phase-out of the controversial chemicals, says the Corporate Europe Observatory.

Chemours Company headquarters is seen at the Hotel DuPont.

Chemours is no stranger to defending PFAS. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

BRUSSELS — American chemicals producer Chemours, the group behind the Teflon brand, has been lobbying harder than any other business to water down a proposed European Union ban on harmful PFAS chemicals, according to a new report by the nonprofit Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO).

The chemicals in question — colloquially dubbed “forever chemicals,” because they don’t break down naturally — have been linked to a host of health conditions, including cancer, liver damage and decreased fertility. Studies have found the substances in everything from rainwater and soil to breast milk and brain tissue.

Chemours has held “more high-level meetings on this topic with the commission than any other group,” and “more than doubled its declared lobby expenditure in the past year,” the CEO report said. Its tactics include mobilizing other sectors to “raise the alarm on the proposal” in meetings with the commission and “promoting a weaker scheme as an alternative to a PFAS ban,” it writes.

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Chemours said it is “committed to Europe and its future Clean Industrial Deal and has no intention of slowing down the regulatory process,” in a statement to the nonprofit.

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