New studies show how heavily drinking water in Europe is contaminated with chemicals that are no longer harmful. In Germany, two federal states in particular stand out. Environmentalists are now calling for a ban on PFAS pesticides. What is known so far about the danger to human health.

Consumers and environmentalists are constantly concerned about eternity chemicals (also known as PFAS). The substances are water, dirt and grease repellent and are therefore widespread in many everyday products – but they are also hardly biodegradable and can accumulate in the environment and in the human body. Some are already largely banned – but many are still in use. Previous studies had even detected the compounds in drinking water – Utopia reported.

The Pesticide Network Europe (PAN Europe) and the Austrian environmental protection organization Global 2000 have now investigated this and examined the drinking water quality in eleven European countries, as they announced in a press release. The result: In 34 of 36 tap water samples They were able to detect the eternal chemical trifluoroacetate (TFA). The water was most heavily contaminated in Upper Austria (4.1 micrograms per liter) and Paris (2.1 micrograms). In Germany, the most chemicals were found in tap water in Baden-Württemberg (1.1 micrograms) and North Rhine-Westphalia (1.0 micrograms).

What is TFA anyway?

According to the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), TFA is a chemical that is very water-soluble. It enters the water mainly as a degradation product of PFAS pesticides and fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) and can no longer be filtered out. According to the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU), F-gases are mainly used as coolants in refrigeration and air conditioning systems, as propellants in sprays, as propellants in foams and insulation materials, and as fire extinguishing agents. In their communication, Global 2000 and Pan Europe call for a ban on PFAS pesticides and F-gases.

Drinking water samples predominantly in the border area

The extent to which the drinking water samples examined were contaminated varied enormously. The results ranged from values ​​of less than 0.02 micrograms per litre to 4.1 micrograms per litrethe average was 0.74 micrograms per liter. Overall, fewer TFA chemicals were found in the drinking water samples than in rivers and lakes.

According to the statement, there is hardly any data to date on the health risks for consumers. According to the assessment of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2016, 50 micrograms of TFA per kilogram of body weight per day are tolerable. However, the German Federal Environment Agency set the limit significantly lower in 2020, at 12.5 micrograms, and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) even assumes a maximum daily dose of only 0.32 micrograms.

Also The chemical is found in mineral water – but in significantly lower quantities than in the drinking water samples. To check whether TFA also reaches deep-lying water reservoirs, 17 mineral and two spring water samples were examined. Although the chemical was found in twelve of the 19 samples, the average contamination was significantly lower than in the drinking water samples, at 0.278 micrograms per liter.

“The good news is that the TFA levels we found in most samples are still be within the limitsthat are considered safe based on current knowledge,” emphasized Helmut Burtscher-Schaden, environmental chemist at GLOBAL 2000. “However, TFA pollution is increasing daily and the safety buffer is already very small. In addition, we are already over-contaminated by other PFAS. Measures must therefore be taken immediately to prevent further TFA pollution.”

TFA could enter water bodies through agriculture

In particular, the results of the Austrian samples suggested that the PFAS contamination of the waters with the Proximity to farms “What is particularly striking is that the highest levels of contamination in this random sample test were found precisely in the federal states where most of the agricultural land is located,” says Burtscher-Schaden. Many farmers do not even know that the eternal chemical is in the products they use to spray their fields – because the corresponding labeling is missing.

Do eternity chemicals affect fertility?

It is also disputed to what extent the Chemical that affects the ability to reproduceA study by Bayer on rabbits showed severe deformities in newborns. Germany has already proposed to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) that TFA be classified as reproductive toxic, i.e. harmful to reproduction.

Sources used: Communication from Global 2000 and PAN, study, UBA, BMU