Why 'forever chemical' TFA is toxic for human reproduction

 

Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), is widely used in industrial applications. [Getty Images]

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) said Wednesday that it was recommending that the so-called forever chemical TFA should be designated as toxic for human reproduction.

The agency said in a statement to AFP that following a meeting last week, its risk assessment committee "recommends for TFA a classification as toxic to reproduction".

Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), which is widely used in industrial applications, is a substance that "can cause very long-lasting and diffuse contamination of water resources", the agency said.

According to the ECHA's recommended classification, TFA "may impair fertility" and "may cause harm to the unborn child."

TFA is a type of perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), often called forever chemicals as they take an extremely long time to break down.

The agency's opinion will next be sent to the European Commission to decide on proposing potential restrictions on the chemical across the 27-nation bloc.

The NGO Pesticide Action Network Europe said in a statement that the agency's conclusion "confirms what scientists and civil society have warned over the past two years," calling TFA a "planetary" threat.

"The announced decision confirms what we have been warning since 2023: TFA is not a harmless PFAS metabolite. It can be toxic to humans and the harm is greatest during life's most vulnerable periods -- pregnancy and early childhood," said Angeliki Lysimachou, the NGO's head of science and policy.

The group noted that TFA was the "most widespread PFAS contaminant in Europe's water resources, food and environment."

In 2025, TFA was detected in 24 out of 30 samples taken, particularly in Paris, according to a survey carried out by consumer rights organisation UFC-Que Choisir and the environmental group Future Generations.