Denmark bans 23 PFAS pesticides

15 July 2025

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency withdrew the approval of 23 pesticides containing TFA, a short-chain PFAS compound, following an assessment about their environmental impact. This forever chemical is a largely non-degradable acid that pollutes the environment and drinking water, entering the food chain.

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency checked six active substances in 33 pesticides: fluazinam, fluopyram, diflufenican, mefentrifluconazole, tau-fluvalinate, and flonicamid.

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency expects to be able to make decisions in the remaining ten cases in the next months.

TFA is a product of the degradation of PFAS and has been repeatedly found in groundwater. Although there are maximum levels of PFAS in EU legislation, there are no indications about products of PFAS degradation, such as TFA. The Greens in the European Parliament have sent a priority written question to the European Commission to ensure that levels of TFA are measured and considered when implementing the existing legislation.  

The pesticides concerned will be prohibited in six to fifteen months from now, with potato production expected to be most affected by the restrictions.

The cost of removing PFAS and TFA from drinking water has been proven to be extremely expensive.

SAFE believes that the only effective way of fighting PFAS pollution is to address it at the source.