The European Union is working on a "universal restriction" of PFAS, a regulation that could become the broadest chemical ban in history. Without it, 4.4 million tonnes of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkylated substances that have been linked to a dozen illnesses) could end up in the environment in the next 30 years.
An unprecedented regulation attracts an unprecedented lobbying effort.
With decades of profiteering and covering up the harmful PFAS effects, PFAS industries are not giving up on these chemicals. Their main goal? To delay the regulation, water it down by obtaining exemptions for their respective sectors and preserve their "chemical business as usual."
This reporting project, a cross-border interdisciplinary investigation, examines one of the largest lobbying processes in the history of the EU and looks into how industries influence governments ahead of key EU discussions. Journalists also investigate the “corporate disinformation playbook.”
For a complete list of articles from this PFAS investigation's media partners, go to foreverpollution.eu/lobbying/.
The Forever Lobbying Project team: See the journalists who contributed to this investigation at foreverpollution.eu/lobbying/the-team/.