Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of substances for which there are widespread concerns about their extreme persistence in combination with toxic effects. It has been argued that PFAS should only be employed in those uses that are necessary for health or safety or are critical for the functioning of society and where no alternatives are available ("essential-use concept"). Implementing the essential-use concept requires a sufficient understanding of the current uses of PFAS and of the availability, suitability, and hazardous properties of alternatives. To illustrate the information requirements under the essential-use concept, we investigate seven different PFAS uses, three in consumer products and four industrial applications. We investigate how much information is available on the types and functions of PFAS in these uses, how much information is available on alternatives, their performance and hazardous properties and, finally, whether this information is sufficient as a basis for deciding on the essentiality of a PFAS use. The results show (i) the uses of PFAS are highly diverse and information on alternatives is often limited or lacking; (ii) PFAS in consumer products often are relatively easy to replace; (iii) PFAS uses in industrial processes can be highly complex and a thorough evaluation of the technical function of each PFAS and of the suitability of alternatives is needed; (iv) more coordination among PFAS manufacturers, manufacturers of alternatives to PFAS, users of these materials, government authorities, and other stakeholders is needed to make the process of phasing out PFAS more transparent and coherent.

Chair of Ecological Systems Design Institute of Environmental Engineering ETH Zürich 8093 Zürich Switzerland

Department of Environmental Science Stockholm University SE 10691 Stockholm Sweden

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology Brody School of Medicine East Carolina University Greenville North Carolina 27834 United States

Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering Chemical and Petroleum Engineering and Environmental and Occupational Health University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 15261 United States

European Environment Agency Kongens Nytorv 6 DK 1050 Copenhagen Denmark

Graduate School of Oceanography University of Rhode Island Narragansett Rhode Island 02882 United States

Health and Environment Program Commonweal Bolinas California 94924 United States

Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics ETH Zürich 8092 Zürich Switzerland

Milieu Consulting SPRL Brussels 1060 Belgium

National Institute of Environmental Health Science and U S Public Health Service Research Triangle Park North Carolina 27709 United States

Norwegian Institute for Air Research Fram Centre N 9296 Tromsø Norway and Institute for Arctic and Marine Biology UiT The Arctic University of Norway N 9037 Tromsø Norway

RECETOX Masaryk University 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

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From Ambition to Action: Navigating Obstacles and Opportunities of "Safe and Sustainable by Design"

From "forever chemicals" to fluorine-free alternatives