EU PFHxA restriction under REACH Annex XVII Entry 79 takes effect

Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/2462 added Entry 79 to REACH Annex XVII. From October 10, 2026, covered products may not be placed on the EU market if the sum of PFHxA and its salts reaches 25 ppb, or the sum of PFHxA-related substances reaches 1,000 ppb, measured in homogeneous material.
Covered product categories include textiles, leather, furs and hides in clothing and accessories for the general public; footwear; paper and cardboard food-contact materials; mixtures intended for the general public; and cosmetics.
The restriction also covers precursors that can degrade or convert to PFHxA, such as 6:2 FTOH and 6:2 FTS, meaning a single-substance PFHxA test report is generally insufficient for compliance.
Exclusions include personal protective equipment in specified high-risk categories, certain medical and in-vitro diagnostic devices and construction textiles. Products already placed on the EU market before October 10, 2026 benefit from a derogation.
Further deadlines apply: broader textile, leather and fur restrictions begin October 10, 2027, and restrictions on firefighting foams used in civil aviation begin October 10, 2029. Training and public fire service foams were restricted from April 10, 2026.