PARIS — Europe's rivers, lakes and groundwater are riddled with "alarming" levels of a persistent man-made 'forever chemical' linked to synthetic pesticides, a coalition of non-governmental organizations said on Monday.
The European Pesticide Action Network (PAN Europe) and its members analyzed more than two dozen surface and groundwater samples from 10 European Union countries and found PFAS long-life substances in all.
They said the abundance of one chemical in particular, trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), represented "the largest known area-wide contamination by a man-made chemical" that well exceeded limits proposed by the 27-nation EU.
"The extent of the contamination is alarming and calls for decisive action," PAN Europe said in a new report detailing its findings.
Widely used in everyday items like cosmetics, non-stick pans and fire extinguishers, PFAS are highly durable products that can take centuries to break down.
They have been detected in water, air, fish and soil in the remotest corners of the globe, and concern over their possible impact on human health has been growing.
Degrading PFAS used in pesticides are a major source of TFA. They are also released into the atmosphere from certain cooling systems and eventually enter the water cycle through rain.
12 MONTHS TO GO Amelie Oudea-Castera (right), minister for Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games of France, and Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee, watch a parade on the River Seine to test maneuvers, distances, duration and video capture of the future opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, in Paris, France, Monday, July 17, 2023. XINHUA PHOTO Pedestrians walk in the rain by the river Thames as Tower Bridge is stuck in an open position due to a technical fault, in central London on August 9, 2021. AFP PHOTO The Swiss hotel ship Heidelberg, which was involved in an accident on the night before on the river Danube is pictured in Komarom, Hungary on May 19, 2024. Hungarian rescuers searched for survivors on May 19, 2024 after a cruise ship and a motorboat collided on the northern Danube leaving two people dead and five others missing, police said. (Photo by Ferenc ISZA / AFP) The Swiss hotel ship Heidelberg, which was involved in an accident on the night before on the river Danube is pictured in Komarom, Hungary on May 19, 2024. Hungarian rescuers searched for survivors on May 19, 2024 after a cruise ship and a motorboat collided on the northern Danube leaving two people dead and five others missing, police said. (Photo by Ferenc ISZA / AFP) Read The Rest at :
