Statement of the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies (AWMF), Germany on the Emerging PFAS Ban
The special feature of PFAS is their high resistance to mechanical stress and temperature with an inert surface. These properties include a special durability that has led to widespread use in a wide variety of everyday products including about 10,000 substances. On the other hand, increasing attention has been focused on the long-term persistence of the substances in terms of environmental impact and bioaccumulation in humans and animals. Data on possible toxicity and carcinogenicity in animal experiments have been published. Extrapolating data from animal to human studies was hampered due to differences in exposure.
Among all PFAS, a subgroup can be defined which, according to the data available to date, is non-toxic, non-cancerogenic, has no effect on the immune response, and shows no bioaccumulation. These long-chain fluoropolymers are referred to as "polymers of low concern". The best-known example is PTFE (Teflon).