Until now, it has remained unclear when and how the proposed Detailed Evaluation by SEAC/ECHA will be carried out for the eight additional sectors that were not assessed in the initial PFAS restriction process, including Sealing Applications (Sector 17).
ESA has therefore decided to proactively prepare a suitable concept and methodology in anticipation of this future evaluation.
The kick-off meeting of the ESG Working Group for the “Risk Assessment for Non-PFAS Seals” initiative took place on 1 September 2026.
The proposed approach is intended to cover all types of sealing devices represented across ESA’s five divisions. The concept will also be coordinated with the Fluid Sealing Association (FSA) and other relevant industry associations, with the objective of making the approach applicable to sealing applications across the relevant industrial sectors.
The results of this work could also provide the basis for a joint ESA position paper, potentially to be published before the start of the formal Detailed Evaluation.
As discussed during the ESG kick-off meeting and subsequent ESG and divisional meetings, ESA has agreed to introduce the Risk Assessment Analysis for Non-PFAS Seals across all five ESA divisions.
A comprehensive PowerPoint presentation and Excel file have been prepared by Thomas Böhm – EagleBurgmann, explaining the purpose, methodology and planned progress of the project.
All Division Chairs have been requested to invite their members to review and approve the content of the Excel file and, where necessary, propose modifications to ensure that it accurately reflects the specific technical requirements, operating conditions and applications relevant to each division.
Following this review, each division is requested to nominate a specialist or specialist team to identify and provide proven, real-world critical applications where non-PFAS sealing solutions are possible or create associated hazards and safety risks.
These examples should:
The relevant information should then be entered into the dedicated Excel file.
We kindly ask all divisions and participating specialists to complete this work by the end of October 2026, allowing ESA to consolidate the results and further develop the overall risk-assessment concept.
This proactive approach will help ESA to build a fact-based, technically robust and industry-wide risk assessment of the availability and performance of non-PFAS sealing solutions where possible across the relevant applications and sectors.
Thomas Bôhm,
Moderator for the “Risk Assessment for Non-PFAS Seals” Initiative, EagleBurgmann
Sandy Van den Broeck,
ESG Director, ESA