The Directive came into force in December and amends the 1976 Directive on marketing and use of dangerous substances (ENDS Report 382, p 49 
). DEFRA plans to add the substance to schedule 1 of the Controls on Dangerous Substances and Preparations Regulations 2006.
It expects the burden on industry to be minimal as PFOS only has a few specialised uses. The Directive also exempts several essential uses, including photographic coatings and aviation hydraulics.
Firemen can continue to use existing stocks of fire-fighting foam containing PFOS until June 2011.