Members of the ESA strive to minimise the emissions from process machinery by providing state-of-the-art sealing materials. In addition,the emissions and contamination during the production of the sealing materials and from the materials itself are kept as low as possible. A critical and widely used component for the use in sealing products are fluropolymers including PTFE dispersions and powders. Their main advantage is the high chemical resistance and very good sealability. This type of seal is helping the industry to reduce leakage and therefore keep environmental pollution to a minimum.

Our members purchase these components from reputable sources which claim that their products are PFOA free. Analysis of end products including PTFE yarns, braided PTFE packings and PTFE gaskets has shown that the levels of PFOA in the final product is below the REACH threshold of 25 ppb. For PFOS the level in the finished product is far below 0,1 % by weight. Regarding the other chemicals in the PFAS group there are no specific values available but testing for other substances is ongoing. However,in most cases other related PFAS chemicals should have been removed from the finished sealing product after processing.

More information about PFAS can be found on Youtube posted by Simon Roberts. He has a PhD in Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology and conducted PFAS research. A basic introduction about “PFAS Nomenclature, Acronyms, and Structures” can be found using the link https://youtu.be/bVlZVCXe698. More information is presented in the three part series “Three Things to Know About PFAS: Part 1 Persistence” https://youtu.be/K9LYfbuVFf8. Information about PFAS Analysis can be found under https://youtu.be/3BISPfoa-Dc.