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The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) wants to lower the health-based reference value for PFAS several thousand times. One important reason is studies showing that substances impair the effect of vaccines.
The site of the fire drill at F17 in Kallinge. Large amounts of fire retardant foam with PFAS have been used here. Therefore, drinking water contains high levels of hazardous substances. Stock Photography.
PFAS is a group of toxic chemicals, which in several Swedish municipalities have discovered very high levels in drinking water.
The new reference value for PFAS should be 4.4 nanograms per kilogram of body weight per week, EFSA, the equivalent of the EU, reports the National Food Administration. The guideline value describes the amount of these substances that is considered to be ingested every week throughout life without negative health effects.
– It’s a very strong squeeze. The old values were incredibly much higher, says Emma Halldin-Ankarberg, a toxicologist with the National Food Administration.
One of the biggest reasons behind the decision is the growing knowledge that already low levels of PFAS interfere with the immune system in a way that, among other things, affects the effect of vaccines. Furthermore, it is already known that PFAS affects, for example, the liver, kidneys and the regulation of cholesterol levels in the blood.
At present, however, there is no legally established limit value for PFAS in drinking water within the EU. Sweden has a so-called action limit, which is 90 nanograms of PFAS per liter of drinking water. However, it is difficult to directly compare with the new reference value proposed by EFSA.
This is mainly due to the fact that they are not expressed according to the same measure. But also that PFAS is not a single substance, but a collective name for almost 5,000 different hazardous chemicals, and that Sweden and EFSA include different numbers of substances in their measurements. The EFSA guideline value applies to a compote of four PFAS substances, and the Swedish action limit includes eleven different substances. The European Commission is also working on a common EU limit value, which includes other substances.
– But regardless of how you count on this, I would say that we should narrow the border in Sweden. Although it is too early to say in what way, and how it will be. We will count on it now, says Emma Halldin-Ankarberg.
He stresses that it is very good that the benchmark is now tightening in Europe. But one of the main problems remains, namely that chemicals cannot yet be banned or regulated at the group level. That limitation becomes very clear when it comes to PFAS, which contains so many different substances that they are relatively interchangeable because they have similar properties.
– Currently, only two of these nearly 5,000 different PFAS substances are prohibited. And they have started to decline. But at the same time, we see that companies are moving onto other issues, which are starting to rise instead. We are always one step behind companies, as long as the legislation looks like this, says Emma Halldin-Ankarberg.
The European Commission is likely to set a final limit for PFAS in drinking water in December. After that, EU member states have two years to implement it.
– Then it will be the so-called minimum directive, where each country can set even stricter limit values if it wishes. We will look at this when we receive information from the Commission and see what it means for Sweden, says Emma Halldin-Ankarberg.
PFAS is man-made
PFAS (poly and perfluorinated alkyl substances) are collective names for approximately 4700 different industrially produced substances with similar structure and partially common properties.
PFAS contain fluorine atoms in specific locations and the molecules are characterized by having a water soluble side and a fat soluble side. This gives them special surface properties, which are used, for example, to make long-lasting bubbles in fire-retardant foam, good sliding on the ski wall, and water-repellent impregnation for fabrics and floors.
Other uses are coating on pans and in certain types of food packaging, for example, for hamburgers, popcorn and sandwich paper.
PFAS does not occur naturally, but began to be produced on a larger scale in the 1950s.
PFAS are very persistent compounds, which degrade extremely slowly. Once they are finished in the wild, they remain. Therefore, they are a difficult problem in close water sources, for example to airports and military areas, where large amounts of fire foam have been sprayed.
PFAS has several negative effects on health. For example, cholesterol levels, liver and kidneys are affected. There are also studies showing that PFAS suppresses the body’s immune system, increasing the risk of infections and resulting in a weakened immune response to vaccines.
Fetuses, infants, and children appear to be particularly sensitive to PFAS. Substances can be transferred across the placenta and through breastfeeding.
Sources: Nationalencyklopedin and Livsmedelsverket
