Top pharmaceutical and IT companies threaten to quit Ireland if ban on ‘forever chemicals’ is introduced

Pfizer and Intel have sent warnings to the European Chemicals Agency which is considering the move

Thu 16 Jan 2025 at 02:30

Leading pharmaceutical and IT companies have said they will quit Ireland if a proposed ban on so-called forever chemicals is introduced.

Pfizer, Intel and other major employers are among firms that have sent warnings to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), which is considering the ban jointly proposed by Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway.

Pfizer pharmaceuticals in Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, wrote that a total ban “would severely threaten the viability of this sector”.

“Investment would more likely flow to outside the EU, where no such ban is applicable, such as to the USA or Singapore,” it said.

Intel Ireland, a major part of Intel’s global IT operations, said the ability to continue operating in the EU “would simply not be possible”.

Forever chemicals are properly called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a collection of thousands of man-made chemicals added to plastics and other materials used in a multitude of everyday items and industrial processes.

PFAS are widely used to coat everyday items to make them waterproof, stain-resistant, non-stick or fire-safe and are on clothing, furniture, cookware and many other common items.

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They don’t break down naturally and there are growing concerns about the health impacts of their build-up in the environment and in human tissue.

Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies say, however, that PFAS-coated surfaces are vital in their manufacturing processes.

“Purity is an essential parameter with pharmaceutical production,” Pfizer wrote. “Product contact surfaces must therefore be smooth and cleanable.”

Stainless steel was used in some processes, but it was prone to pitting and scratching.

“It is hard to envisage how such synthesis of small molecule pharmaceuticals could be completed in their [PFAS] absence,” the company wrote.

Intel Leixlip expressed similar concerns, highlighting the billions of euro in investment and thousands of jobs it had in Ireland.

It said if a ban was introduced, “the ability to maintain semiconductor manufacturing with the EU would simply not be possible”.

“Such a scenario would lead to very serious consequences for the EU economy, EU citizens and indeed the many EU policy objectives,” it said.

Bausch & Lomb, Merit Medical, Linde, Firecomms and Zeus were among the other companies based in Ireland that made submissions, along with more than a dozen companies whose names were withheld as “confidential”.

The ECHA is working its way through thousands of submissions and is due to make a recommendation to the European Commission later this year on whether a ban or limited restrictions or derogations should be introduced.

Countries would then have to vote on whether to accept the recommendations.

The Department of Enterprise, which oversees chemicals regulations in Ireland, said it had made no submission to the ECHA on Ireland’s behalf.

It said, however, it encouraged stakeholders to engage with the public consultations.

“Their input/data can influence ECHA’s recommendations ahead of their submission to the European Commission,” it said.

Earlier this week, a joint investigation by journalists in 16 countries revealed data gathered from governments and agencies across Europe that put the cost of cleaning up PFAS pollution at €1.9trn.