Research into eternal pollutants is increasing. Per- and polyfluoroalkyls, better known as the PFAShave been present in the industry since the 1950s and are found in the composition of many everyday objects, such as household products, cosmetics, non-stick coatingsin some plastic packaging or in thepotable water.
A report by Pesticide Action Network (PAN Europe), an international network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) fighting against the use of pesticides, warned on Wednesday 10 July of the presence of trifluoroacetic acid, known by the abbreviation TFA, in 94% of tap water samples analysed (from 11 EU countries) and in 63% of bottled water samples.
Although in most places TFA is not yet present in quantities dangerous to health (according to current knowledge), the authors specify that in the face of its accumulation, the “safety margin” is weak.
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Our drinking #water is at risk. We already showed that the smallest #PFAS trifluoroacetic acid #TFA is present in surface water all over Europe. Our new report shows that the forever chemical is also in our drinking water.https://t.co/mFOcGfhZTz pic.twitter.com/9Lx849JKUg— PAN Europe (@EuropePAN) July 10, 2024
PFAS: What is Trifluoroacetic Acid?
Trifluoroacetic acid is “an extremely persistent degradation product of PFAS pesticides and fluorinated gases,” explain the authors. It is found in pesticides as well as in industrial products and refrigerant gases. “Despite its widespread presence in waters around the world, there are few studies on environmental and health risks”we can read in the report.
For a long time, this pollutant slipped through the net of health authorities. “From a legal point of view, TFA has so far been and remains an ‘invisible’ chemical,” Sara Johansson, head of water pollution prevention policy at the EEB, said in a statement. It is in this sense that PAN Europe assesses the presence of this pollutant in water. Last May, PAN Europe already warned of high levels of this eternal pollutant in European waterways.
TFA : “The safety margin is already very small,” warns a biochemist
This time, the experts measured the levels of “55 samples of drinking water from 11 European Union countries”. They found that this product was present in 12 out of 19 samples of bottled mineral water (63%). As for tap water, it was present in 34 out of 36 samples. The average presence is 740 nanograms/liter and values up to 4,100 ng/l.
“The good news so far is that in almost all samples, the TFA levels we found still appear to be within the limits considered safe based on current knowledge,” comments Helmut Burtscher-Schaden, biochemist, to GLOBAL 2000 – Friends of the Earth Austria. But he warns that “TFA inputs are increasing every day and the safety margin is already very low.”
At present, “There are currently no legal limits in the EU for TFA in surface water, groundwater or drinking water”the authors write.
The authors also call on governments to take a series of measures to ensure that “European citizens will still be able to drink tap water safely in ten or fifty years”These include the ban on PFAS pesticides and fluorinated gases.
Sources :
- EU-Wide Drinking Water Testing Finds Forever Chemical TFA in 94 % of Samples: Only a Rapid Ban on PFAS Pesticides and F-Gases Can Save Our Water – Pesticide Action Network (PAN Europe) (10/07/2024) – communiqué
- TFA: The Forever Chemical in the Water We Drink – Pesticide Action Network (PAN Europe) (10/07/2024) – Rapport
