How can you avoid PFAS in your construction? How do you handle construction waste that may contain PFAS? What are the consequences of having PFAS in your buildings for the environment and people? And how extensive is this problem?

A project team consisting of experts from the Technological Institute, WSP Danmark A/S, Henning Larsen Architects, Søren Jensen Rådgivende Ingeniørfirma A/S and the Green Transition Denmark will dive together into this aspect of the whole pollution case with the fluorinated substances. In periods, there is massive attention to cases about PFAS in, among other things, consumer products, fire drills, food, sewage sludge and pesticides - but not in construction.

We know that PFAS are used in building materials. In the United States have Green Science Policy Institute made a publication designating material groups that contain PFAS. But beyond that, there is scant knowledge of exactly where it is used and what the extent is. This applies to both old and new building materials. In the case of renovations, there is a lack of knowledge about how it should be handled both in terms of the working environment and in relation to waste management. It is also not elucidated what effects it can have on the indoor climate and what effect it has if it is washed into the environment.

The area is complex. There are potentially up to 12.000 PFAS compounds, and only a few PFAS compounds are subject to bans. At the same time, it is difficult for the consumer to find information about whether a building material contains PFAS. There is also a great risk that PFAS in building materials can slow down reuse and recycling, if guidelines are not made on how it can be handled in the best possible way.

The EU's regulatory measures against PFAS have stalled, and therefore it is of great importance to raise awareness among the industry's various players.

With our project, we will investigate, describe and communicate about how extensive the challenge with PFAS in building materials is. In the project, we will examine a number of products for their content of PFAS and disseminate the results with a view to the construction industry being able to avoid them in the future. And thus ensure future reuse and recycling of them.

The project is financed by the Landowners Investment Fund and Realdania.