IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
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IPC COMMUNITY 42 SPRING 2023 PFAS Sounding the Alarm Man-made chemicals known as PFAS have regulators busy trying to address previous releases and prevent future releases of this chemical into the environment from wide- spread uses in manufacturing processes and products used across the globe. PFAS chemi- cals tend to be persistent in the environment and they have been used long enough and in enough appli- cations that their unwanted presence in the environment has public health poli- cymakers concerned. PFAS are per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances, a family of chemicals gen- erally defined by the pres- ence of a carbon-fluorine bond. PFAS resist chem- icals, water, and oils, and perform many different functions in products use- ful in our daily lives. PFAS released to the envi- ronment can remain in the environment—they are per- sistent chemicals. There are thousands of PFAS chemi- cals composing the family of PFAS. Some, depending on the complexity of the molecule, perform differently, have a different lifetime, and have different potential for adverse health effects in exposed populations. We are advocating on behalf of the electron- ics industry globally and sounding the alarm within the electronics manufacturing industry: Now more than ever it is imperative to under- stand the chemicals used in your products and the processes used to make those prod- ucts, and if you're not taking action to learn more, you may find your abil- i t y t o p u r c h a s e or use a critical chemical has been restricted. If you're not aware of the chemical makeup of your products, and if and where PFAS chemicals exist, it's time to really start looking into this. We recognize more and more that companies will need to either be prepared to dis- close PFAS in their products, or the government will impose a requirement. ADVOCACY By Suhani Chitalia, IPC Environmental Regulatory Affairs Manager