PFAS in Plastics: 6 Routes In, from Fluoropolymer Processing Aids and Anti-Drip PTFE to Fluorinated Containers

Most plastics contain no PFAS at all, and the ones that do take PFAS in by 6 routes: 5 fluorinated additives that a formulator adds on purpose, and 1 surface treatment that creates PFAS on a finished container. So which additive is it, in which plastic, and how much of it is there? In order, the routes are a fluoropolymer processing aid in polyethylene, an anti-drip PTFE in flame-retardant polycarbonate, a PTFE micropowder in wear compounds, the flame retardant KPFBS in transparent polycarbonate, an HFO blowing agent in rigid foam, and the surface fluorination of HDPE containers. Two numbers anchor the scale: a fluoropolymer processing aid is dosed at parts-per-million level and capped by the FDA at 0.2 wt% (2,000 ppm) for the 65-71 % fluorine grade under 21 CFR 177.1520, while an anti-drip PTFE reached UL 94 V-0 in a polycarbonate/ABS blend at 0.4 wt% (4,000 ppm).

This page works through the PFAS definition and its boundary, the 6 routes, which polymers carry one, typical levels, whether a fluoropolymer counts as a PFAS, what regulators have concluded, how PFAS is measured, and what replaces each additive. Every figure below carries a name, a level and an instrument or date, which is what separates this reference on plastic additives from the rest of the plastic additives discussion online: 5 of its 43 families contain fluorine.

Levels are the values recorded in our source library for each additive. They are not a survey of the market.

Are There PFAS in Plastic?#

Some plastics contain PFAS and most do not: of the 5,776 additives catalogued for plastics by Marta Monclús, Martin Wagner and colleagues at NTNU Trondheim in Nature (2025), only a small fluorinated group is used in plastics production, and this reference documents 5 of them. What makes a substance a PFAS in the first place? The 5 additives and the 1 surface-formed group covered here are the answer, and every one of them is intentionally added to, or formed on, a specific polymer for a specific technical reason, not distributed evenly across plastics in general.

What counts as a PFAS?#

A PFAS is a substance that contains at least one fully fluorinated methyl (CF3) or methylene (CF2) carbon atom, the criterion written into Article 5(5) of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (EU) 2025/40. The regulation carries defined exclusions alongside that criterion, and the structural criterion itself, close to but not identical with the definition the OECD has used since 2021, is what makes the class as large as it is. Three types of substance meet it:

• Perfluorinated acids and their salts, such as PFOA and the PFBS salts named later on this page.
• Fluoropolymers, such as PTFE and the VDF-HFP copolymer used as a processing aid.
• Fluorinated gases carrying a CF3 group, such as the HFO blowing agents covered in route 5.

Is PFAS a plastic?#

PFAS is not a plastic: it is a class of chemicals defined by a carbon-fluorine bond, and while a plastic can contain a PFAS, most PFAS are small molecules that are not plastics at all. The exception is the point competitors on this topic miss: some PFAS are themselves polymers. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, CAS 9002-84-0) and the vinylidene fluoride and hexafluoropropylene copolymer (CAS 9011-17-0) used as a processing aid are both plastics and PFAS at the same time, because both meet the structural criterion while also being high-molecular-weight polymers in their own right. If a plastic can contain a PFAS, does every plastic contain one?

Do all plastics contain PFAS?#

No, and the common ones do not: no PFAS additive appears in the standard packages this reference documents for rigid PVC, polypropylene, PET bottle resin or polystyrene. Each of those polymers carries its own additive package built from entirely different chemistry.

• Rigid and flexible PVC: heat stabilizers, lubricants, acrylic processing aids, impact modifiers, plasticizers, calcium carbonate and titanium dioxide.
• Polypropylene: a phenolic antioxidant with a phosphite, an acid scavenger, nucleating or clarifying agents and slip or antiblock additives.
• PET bottle resin: an antimony polymerisation catalyst, reheat additives, toners and acetaldehyde scavengers.
• Polystyrene: no PFAS additive in the packages this reference documents.

A PFAS additive is the exception in plastics formulation, confined to the 6 routes covered next.

The 6 Routes PFAS Take into a Plastic Product#

PFAS reach a plastic product by 6 routes: a fluoropolymer processing aid in polyethylene, an anti-drip PTFE in flame-retardant polycarbonate, a PTFE micropowder in wear compounds, the flame retardant KPFBS in transparent polycarbonate, an HFO blowing agent with a CF3 group in rigid foam, and the surface fluorination of HDPE containers, which is the only one of the 6 that is not an additive.

1. Fluoropolymer processing aids in polyethylene film, pipe and cable#

A fluoropolymer processing aid is a vinylidene fluoride and hexafluoropropylene copolymer (CAS 9011-17-0) added to polyethylene at parts-per-million level to remove sharkskin melt fracture from extruded film, pipe and cable. The mechanism corrects a claim repeated across most PFAS coverage of plastics: immiscible fluoropolymer droplets migrate to and coat the die wall under flow, and that low-energy coating induces interfacial slip of the polyolefin melt (Kharchenko and colleagues, 2003; Yang and colleagues, 2025), so the additive works inside the die, not as a mould-release agent on the mould surface.

Classed here as a fluoroelastomer, a polymeric PFAS, EC 618-470-6, it is supplied as a 2-5 % masterbatch into LLDPE, HDPE and mLLDPE film, PE pipe, wire and cable, and blow moulding. Its full grades, dosage and food-contact clearance are on fluoropolymer processing aids. The US Food and Drug Administration caps it under 21 CFR 177.1520 at 0.2 wt% (2,000 ppm) for the 65-71 % fluorine grade (Mooney viscosity at least 28), or 1.0 wt% (10,000 ppm) for the grade with at least 87 % vinylidene fluoride.

The incumbent is not a perfect solution either: it did not eliminate stick-slip in HDPE, and gross melt fracture reappeared at 141 per second at 0.05 wt% additive (Adesina and colleagues, 2015). 3M announced on 20 December 2022 that it would exit PFAS manufacturing, including PFAS-based additive products, by the end of 2025, on about USD 1.3 billion of annual PFAS net sales.

2. Anti-drip PTFE in flame-retardant polycarbonate and PC/ABS#

Anti-drip PTFE is polytetrafluoroethylene (CAS 9002-84-0) added to a flame-retardant polycarbonate or PC/ABS compound so the burning plastic forms a web instead of dripping onto whatever is below it. PTFE sits within the PFAS group as a fluoropolymer, usually supplied as SAN-encapsulated PTFE (TSAN) at PTFE to SAN ratios from 40/60 to 60/40, which avoids fibrous agglomerates and improves dispersion.

A 2024 study reported that 20 wt% of a bisphenol-A bis(diphenyl phosphate)-type aryl phosphate combined with 0.4 wt% (4,000 ppm) PTFE gave UL 94 V-0 in a PC/ABS blend; the wider patent literature gives an active PTFE range of 0.05 to 10 phr, with 0.1 phr common in worked examples and V-0 at 1.6 mm reported. The rest of the V-0 package is on flame retardants for polycarbonate. UL 94 is harmonised internationally as IEC 60695-11-10 and -11-20, and anti-drip PTFE is one of the additives that changes which rating a compound achieves.

3. PTFE micropowder as a tribological and lubricant additive#

PTFE micropowder is a finely ground fluoropolymer blended into engineering compounds such as polyamide and POM to lower friction and wear in gears, bearings and sliding parts. It is one of 4 solid lubricants used for this purpose, alongside silicone, molybdenum disulfide and graphite, compared on tribological additives, which covers the self-lubricating polyamide, POM and PTFE-filled compounds it is dosed into.

REACH Annex XVII entry 78 (Regulation (EU) 2023/2055) restricts intentionally added synthetic polymer microparticles at 0.01 % by weight, with an industrial-site derogation that carries information duties from 17 October 2025 and annual reporting to ECHA by 31 May. Polymeric powder additives, including PTFE micropowder, fall under those reporting duties, which makes entry 78 the regulatory instrument that governs this route even though PTFE itself is not restricted from use.

4. KPFBS (Rimar salt), a flame retardant for transparent polycarbonate#

KPFBS, potassium nonafluorobutane-1-sulfonate (CAS 29420-49-3), is a perfluorinated salt used as a flame retardant in transparent polycarbonate, where it works at a fraction of the loading any other flame retardant needs. Formula C4F9KO3S, molecular weight 338.19 g/mol, sold as Bayowet C4 by LANXESS, it migrates to the surface of the moulded part and releases species that catalyse charring, and it is used in transparent PC housings, lighting covers and electrical and electronic parts where its low dosage preserves optical clarity.

PFBS-K, as the salt is also written, has sat on the REACH Candidate List since 16 January 2020 under the group entry "PFBS and its salts", Article 57(f). The record for PFBS-K (Rimar salt) carries the full CAS, EC and hazard data. The fluorine-free alternative is KSS, potassium 3-(phenylsulfonyl)benzenesulfonate (CAS 63316-43-8), a different substance from KPFBS despite the two CAS numbers being regularly swapped in trade literature; KSS is not a PFAS.

5. HFO blowing agents with a CF3 group in rigid foam#

HFO blowing agents are hydrofluoroolefins such as HFO-1233zd(E) and HFO-1336mzz(Z), used to foam rigid insulation, and both carry a trifluoromethyl group that puts them inside the PFAS definition. HFO-1233zd(E) has a GWP100 of 3.88 (GWP20 of 14) and HFO-1336mzz(Z) has a GWP100 of 2.08 (GWP20 of 7.48), values set out in the EU F-Gas Regulation (EU) 2024/573, Annex II, section 1. Grades and GWP values for both are compared on HFO blowing agents.

Annex IV, point 17(c), bans foams containing fluorinated greenhouse gases from 1 January 2033 unless required for safety, while in the United States both grades carry a GWP below 150 and sit outside the foam limits of 40 CFR 84.54. These two grades fall inside the PFAS definition; whether the proposed EU universal restriction covers them has not been confirmed against ECHA. A multi-criteria assessment of non-fluorinated alternatives was published by Figuière, Kirik, Aggarwal, Peters and Cousins in RSC Sustainability (2026).

6. Surface fluorination of HDPE containers, which is a process and not an additive#

Surface fluorination is not an additive at all: it is a gas treatment applied to a finished HDPE container so the contents cannot permeate the wall, and the reaction can form PFOA and other perfluorocarboxylic acids on the plastic surface. The container is blow-moulded first and then exposed to fluorine gas to build the barrier layer, which is why this route sits outside the other 5: nothing is dosed into the resin, and the PFAS forms on a surface that already exists.

The US Food and Drug Administration lists fluorinated HDPE containers as under "review of information" following its request for information of July 2022, a status among the FDA food contact rules this reference tracks. PFOA, the substance most associated with this route, has been on the SVHC Candidate List since 20 June 2013 (Article 57(c) toxic for reproduction, Article 57(d) PBT), is listed under the EU POPs Regulation by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/784, is a Stockholm Convention pollutant under decision SC-9/12 (COP-9, 2019), and has been on California's Proposition 65 list for developmental toxicity since 10 November 2017 and for cancer since 25 February 2022.

US enforcement action on fluorinated containers has been the subject of litigation; this page will state the outcome once it is verified against the primary record.

Which Plastics Contain PFAS Additives, and Which Do Not#

Four plastics can carry a PFAS additive, and each carries a different one: polyethylene film and pipe can contain a fluoropolymer processing aid, flame-retardant polycarbonate and PC/ABS can contain anti-drip PTFE, wear-resistant polyamide and POM compounds can contain PTFE micropowder, and rigid insulation foam can be blown with an HFO.

A row saying no PFAS additive appears means that none is recorded in this reference's additive package for that polymer. It is not a test result for any individual product.

A PFAS claim about plastic is only useful once it names the polymer, because 4 of the 8 rows above carry no PFAS additive at all in the packages this reference records.

How Much PFAS Is in a Plastic? Typical Additive Dosages#

PFAS additive levels in plastics run from a few hundred parts per million for a fluoropolymer processing aid to 0.4 wt% (4,000 ppm) for the anti-drip PTFE that carried a polycarbonate/ABS blend to UL 94 V-0. The unit used depends on the route: phr, parts per hundred parts of resin, is the unit anti-drip PTFE loadings are usually given in, while wt% and ppm are the units used for processing aids dosed into polyolefins.

The additive dose and the finished-article limit measure different things: a dosage such as 0.2 wt% is what a formulator adds during compounding, while a finished-article limit is what regulators allow to remain, or migrate, once the part exists. The full dosage range for polymer processing aids is on the family hub. The yardstick that matters most for food-contact packaging is the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, which measures the packaging itself at 25 ppb for any single targeted PFAS, 250 ppb for the sum, and 50 ppm for total PFAS including polymeric PFAS, from 12 August 2026. Every substance above has a record in the plastic additives database.

Are Fluoropolymers Such as PTFE and PVDF PFAS?#

Fluoropolymers are PFAS under the definition that EU law uses: PTFE and the vinylidene fluoride copolymers used as processing aids are built almost entirely from fully fluorinated carbon atoms, which is the criterion itself. PTFE is a fluoropolymer within the PFAS group, and the proposed EU universal PFAS restriction, whose Annex XV dossier ECHA published on 7 February 2023, covers it, with that coverage still pending a final decision. The fluoroelastomer processing aid used in polyethylene is classed the same way in this reference, as a polymeric PFAS, which places both of the plastics additives covered so far in routes 1 and 2 inside the same regulatory category as the small-molecule PFAS covered later on this page.

The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation draws the practical line between the two groups: it counts polymeric PFAS toward the 50 ppm total-PFAS limit, but it excludes them from the targeted 25 ppb and 250 ppb analyses that apply to non-polymeric PFAS. That split, not a size or a hazard judgement, is what distinguishes a polymeric PFAS from a non-polymeric one in current EU law. PTFE itself is not on the SVHC Candidate List, checked against ECHA CHEM on 22 September 2026. Identity, grades and the full regulatory matrix are on PTFE as a plastic additive.

What Regulators Have Concluded About the PFAS Used in Plastics#

Three authorities have formally concluded something about the PFAS used in plastics: ECHA has put PFOA, PFHxS and the PFBS salts on the REACH Candidate List, the Stockholm Convention has listed PFOS, PFOA and PFHxS as persistent organic pollutants, and the European Union has written numeric PFAS limits into packaging and toy law. This section states conclusions, not compliance obligations. The 13 instruments and their dates are on PFAS restrictions and plastic additives, which owns the full matrix.

PFAS additives on the SVHC Candidate List and the Stockholm Convention#

Of the 5 PFAS additives used in plastics, 1 is on the REACH Candidate List: KPFBS, through the group entry for PFBS and its salts, listed on 16 January 2020 for an equivalent level of concern to human health and to the environment. The other listed substances named on this page are not additives the industry doses on purpose. PFOA, listed since 20 June 2013 under Article 57(c) as toxic for reproduction and Article 57(d) as persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic, appears here as a substance formed by surface fluorination and as a historic fluoropolymer polymerisation aid, not as a substance a formulator adds to a compound. PFHxS and its salts joined the Candidate List on 7 July 2017 under Article 57(e) as very persistent and very bioaccumulative. Every listed additive is tracked on the SVHC Candidate List page.

The Stockholm Convention lists PFOS as a persistent organic pollutant from COP-4 (2009), PFOA from COP-9 (2019, decision SC-9/12), PFHxS from COP-10 (2022, decision SC-10/13) and long-chain PFCAs from COP-12 (2025, decision SC-12/12); the United States is not a Party to the Convention. PTFE itself carries none of these listings, confirmed against ECHA CHEM on 22 September 2026.

Dates are the entry or application dates in the named instrument. Compliance obligations are on the regulations page, not here.

Limits that apply to a finished plastic article#

The first numeric PFAS limit a plastic article has to meet is in the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, which from 12 August 2026 bars food-contact packaging containing 25 ppb or more of any single targeted PFAS, 250 ppb or more of the targeted PFAS together, or 50 ppm or more of total PFAS including polymeric PFAS. Regulation (EU) 2025/40, Article 5(5), excludes polymeric PFAS from the two targeted thresholds but counts them toward the 50 ppm total, and if total fluorine exceeds 50 mg/kg the manufacturer must show, on request, the PFAS and non-PFAS split. The other Article 5 limits are on the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) page.

The US Food and Drug Administration determined that 35 food contact notifications for PFAS grease-proofers are no longer effective, in a Federal Register notice of January 2025 following a market-exit announcement in February 2024. The PFAS uses that remain authorised are non-stick cookware coatings, sealing gaskets in food-processing equipment, and manufacturing aids for other food-contact polymers, the category covering route 1.

The EU Toy Safety Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 prohibits intentional PFAS use in toys and applies from 1 August 2030, never from 2026. The EU's proposed universal PFAS restriction remains pending: the Risk Assessment Committee adopted its final opinion on 2 March 2026, and the Committee for Socio-economic Analysis's opinion of 10 March 2026 is a draft, with the final opinion expected at the end of 2026. The European Union has not banned PFAS as a class.

How Is PFAS in Plastic Measured?#

PFAS in a plastic is measured in 2 steps: a total-fluorine screen that says whether any fluorine is present at all, and a targeted LC-MS/MS analysis that says which PFAS it is and how much.

1. Screen the sample for total fluorine by combustion ion chromatography.
2. Identify and quantify the individual substances by targeted LC-MS/MS.
3. Convert precursors with the TOP assay where the targeted list is not enough.

A total-fluorine result alone does not answer whether a plastic contains PFAS, because fluorine in a compound can come from a non-PFAS source as well as from a PFAS, which is exactly why the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation requires the PFAS and non-PFAS split above the 50 mg/kg total-fluorine trigger. Methods, detection limits and that trigger are set out in full on PFAS testing of plastics and packaging.

What Replaces a PFAS Additive? PFAS-Free Processing Aids and Fluorine-Free Flame Retardants#

Every PFAS additive in this list has at least one non-fluorinated counterpart except the anti-drip agent: silicone and boron nitride replace the fluoropolymer processing aid, KSS replaces KPFBS in polycarbonate, and non-fluorinated gases replace the HFO in insulation foam. Polyoxyethylene-grafted polydimethylsiloxane (CAS 68937-54-2) is allowed at up to 0.3 wt% under 21 CFR 177.1520, and boron nitride (CAS 10043-11-5) fights sharkskin and gross melt fracture through the balance of polar and dispersive surface energy (Rathod and Hatzikiriakos, 2004), acting as an energy dissipater at gross melt fracture (Muliawan and colleagues, 2005) and synergistic with small amounts of fluoroelastomer. TPU-based processing aids and PFAS-free polyolefin and ester masterbatches extend the field, and 5 chemistries of PFAS-free processing aids are compared with the incumbent, itself imperfect: it did not eliminate stick-slip in HDPE, with gross melt fracture reappearing at 141 per second at 0.05 wt% (Adesina and colleagues, 2015). PFAS-free PPA lines reached the market from Ampacet (2023), Baerlocher USA as Baerolub AID (29 Nov 2023), and Clariant as AddWorks PPA (23 Apr 2024).

KSS, potassium 3-(phenylsulfonyl)benzenesulfonate (CAS 63316-43-8), is the fluorine-free flame retardant that replaces KPFBS in transparent polycarbonate. Our source library records no drop-in replacement for anti-drip PTFE in flame-retardant polycarbonate, so this page states that plainly.

Non-fluorinated blowing-agent alternatives for insulation foam were assessed by Figuière, Kirik, Aggarwal, Peters and Cousins in RSC Sustainability (2026). Fluorine-free options sit in the wider family of flame retardants for plastics, which supplies the KSS alternative above.

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Should You Worry About PFAS in Everyday Plastic Products?#

Whether PFAS in plastic is worth worrying about depends on which plastic and which route: a fluoropolymer processing aid in a polyethylene film and PFOA formed on a fluorinated container wall are different substances, present for different reasons, at different levels. Of the 16,325 plastic-related chemicals that Monclús, Wagner and colleagues at NTNU Trondheim catalogued in Nature (2025), 5,776 are additives and more than 4,200 are classed as "of concern", a hazard screen rather than a measured risk (Muncke and 32 co-authors, consensus statement, 2020): authorised additives meet their migration limits, while most plastic chemicals still lack hazard data. The hazard screens behind toxic plastic additives are explained separately. This page describes what is in a plastic and what has been decided about it; it is not medical or legal advice.

Do plastic food containers contain PFAS?#

Plastic food containers can contain a PFAS, but usually not the one people mean: the 68 PFAS that Drew Phelps and colleagues catalogued in food contact materials in Environmental Science & Technology (2024), through the Food Packaging Forum's FCCmigex database, were dominated by grease-proofing treatments on paper and board, not by additives in the plastic itself. 87 % of those 68 substances were perfluorocarboxylic acids or fluorotelomer-based, with hazard data for only 57 %. The FDA's own authorised-use position confirms the shift away from plastic: 35 grease-proofer notifications were determined no longer effective in a January 2025 notice, and the PFAS uses that remain authorised are non-stick cookware coatings, sealing gaskets and manufacturing aids for other food-contact polymers, not grease-proofing on plastic packaging. The migration studies are summarised under chemicals migrating from plastic food packaging.

Do Ziploc bags and plastic wrap contain PFAS?#

A polyethylene food bag or cling film can contain a fluoropolymer processing aid at parts-per-million level, because that is the additive PE film lines use to remove melt fracture, and it can equally contain one of the PFAS-free processing aids on the market since 2023. This reference does not test products and names no brand. What can be said is what a polyethylene film line uses: besides the processing aid, slip agents such as erucamide at 0.05-0.12 wt%, antiblock minerals, and antifog and antistatic additives, none of which is a PFAS. The whole package is on additives for packaging film.

Are there PFAS in plastic water bottles?#

No PFAS additive appears in the standard PET bottle package documented in this reference, which is an antimony polymerisation catalyst, a reheat additive at about 5 parts per million, a toner and an acetaldehyde scavenger. Titanium nitride is separately authorised as a PET-only additive, FCM 807, up to 20 mg/kg. The question people usually mean is about the water inside the bottle, not the bottle's own package, and that is a water-chemistry question this reference does not cover.

Are PFAS the same as microplastics?#

PFAS and microplastics are different things measured in different ways: a microplastic is a solid polymer particle between 1 µm and 5 mm, while a PFAS is any substance with a fully fluorinated carbon atom, of any size or state. Nanoplastics are the smaller counterpart, below 1 µm. What additives do once a particle forms is covered on microplastics and additive leaching. The two categories overlap in exactly one place in law: REACH Annex XVII entry 78 restricts intentionally added synthetic polymer microparticles at 0.01 % by weight, and a PTFE micropowder additive is both a fluoropolymer and a synthetic polymer microparticle under that entry.

PFAS outside plastics: textiles, cookware, paper packaging and firefighting foam#

Most PFAS never touch a plastic additive: the categories that dominate PFAS reporting are textile and carpet treatments, non-stick cookware coatings, grease-proofers on paper and board, and firefighting foams. This reference covers additives used in plastics. Textiles, cookware coatings, paper and board grease-proofers, cosmetics and firefighting foams are named here because they dominate the PFAS conversation, and they are not covered further.

• Textile and carpet treatments.
• Non-stick cookware coatings, an authorised FDA food-contact use.
• Paper and board grease-proofers.
• Firefighting foams, restricted under REACH Annex XVII entry 82 to a sum of 1 mg/L from 23 October 2030 (Regulation (EU) 2025/1988).

US state law reaches these categories directly: Maine's 38 MRSA §1614 runs from 1 January 2023 to all products by 1 January 2032 unless currently unavoidable, and Minnesota's Amara's Law bans intentionally added PFAS in 11 categories from 1 January 2025 and in all products from 1 January 2032 unless currently unavoidable. Category bans of this kind are tracked on US state laws on plastic additives.

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