Drinking water does not meet the strict limit of PFAS

In several places in Sweden, drinking water contains too high levels of PFAS, according to a new study from the Swedish Society for Conservation of Nature. Stock Photography.Image: CHRISTINE OLSSON / TT

In September, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) introduced new health-based limit values ​​for PFAS, which meant a sharp reduction. However, until now, the National Food Administration has not adjusted the so-called action limits for PFAS in drinking water in Sweden.

The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation has now investigated what it would mean for drinking water in Sweden’s 20 largest cities and several smaller cities if the Swedish action limits in Sweden are adjusted according to the new limit values ​​of EFSA.

The results show that 16 of the 42 surveyed sites have one or more water sources where the PFAS content exceeds the EFSA limit value. In nine other locations, the levels are so high that the cut-off value is exceeded when PFAS in food and air are also taken into account.

In total, these are water sources that supply drinking water to more than two million people, according to calculations by the Swedish Society for Conservation of Nature.

– Unfortunately, this confirms what we have suspected for a long time, says the secretary general of the Swedish Society for Conservation of Nature, Karin Lexén, to TT.

She emphasizes that it does not pose a serious danger to those who live in these areas. The cut-off value describes the amount that you can ingest each week throughout your life without negative health effects.

– It is not the case that you have to stop drinking the water tomorrow. But in the long run there will be problems, so measures will be required to purify the water, says Lexén.

The good news, he adds, is that PFAS can be cleaned with a carbon filter. At the same time, he notes that measurements of both bottled water and, for example, soft drinks show similar levels of PFAS.

– This is a problem that exists throughout the environment, because it is toxins that in principle never decompose. Tap water is no worse than bottled water or soft drinks, says Karin Lexén.

In addition to implementing purification measures, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation wants Sweden to go ahead and introduce a national ban on these PFAS substances. PFAS is a large group of substances used to create water-resistant, dirt-repellent, or friction-free surfaces such as pans, clothing, furniture, and ski blankets. The properties have also been used in fire fighting foam, as certain types of PFAS create long-lasting bubbles.

– This is probably what has received the most attention in Sweden, in Ronneby, for example, where the drinking water is contaminated because the defense has long used fire foam in their exercises. Similar cases exist in many places in Sweden, says Karin Lexén.

Sandra Strandh, a state inspector for the National Food Administration, says the National Food Administration is awaiting the comprehensive directive on drinking water that the EU Commission is expected to present in December before it is relevant to adjust the action limits. for PFAS in Sweden. However, the directive will not contain the stricter EFSA limit values, because they were published too late to be formally included in the European Commission negotiations, explains Sandra Strandh.

– But every Member State has the opportunity to introduce stricter national limit values, and our aim is that we can introduce more stringent limit values ​​for PFAS that are relevant to Swedish conditions.

When the National Food Administration does its weighting, the action limit will likely end somewhere under the EU Commission’s drinking water directive, but above the more stringent EFSA limit values ​​for PFAS.

TT: What do you say to everyone who is now concerned that the PFAS content may be unhealthily high in drinking water?

– That you can always trust that the drinking water you drink is safe, as long as it meets the requirements that exist today for PFAS.

TT: But you say at the same time that you will probably lower the action limit for PFAS?

– Yes, that can happen when we have made our overall assessment. When it comes to new findings and new science, you may need to re-evaluate them. But so far I have nothing to add, other than drinking water is safe to drink, says Sandra Strandh.

The National Food Administration will present a national limit value for PFAS in Swedish drinking water no later than two after the European Commission has presented the new directive on drinking water within the EU, which is therefore expected to take place in December.