Alarming Result from Global 2000 Test: Forever Chemical in Domestic Mineral Water

Global 2000 found the forever chemical TFA in 14 out of 23 tested Austrian mineral waters. Environmental chemist Helmut Burtscher-Schaden called for a limit value for TFA in drinking water at a media event, as well as an EU-wide ban on the precursor chemical PFAS and a ban on PFAS-containing pesticides.

Mineral Water from Deep Sources According to Global 2000 Test Little or Not Contaminated with Forever Chemical

Global 2000 emphasized in the publication of the investigation that mineral water can still be consumed without concern: "The concentrations found here do not exceed any currently known health guidelines or limit values for TFA." Compared to the contamination of near-surface groundwater, the source of tap water, the TFA contamination of the tested mineral waters - with the exception of the three most contaminated products - was also in the lower 50 percent.

In two of the 14 contaminated products, the value was also below 100 nanograms/liter (ng/L), which according to the information corresponds to the EU limit value for toxicologically relevant pesticide degradation products. "Mineral water from a deep source, which is also well protected by a geological barrier, generally has little or no TFA contamination," was the good news from the study conducted by Burtscher-Schaden.

In shallow sources, groundwater contaminated with TFA can more easily mix with mineral water, "intensive agriculture then further increases the contamination," said the environmental chemist. The Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) refers on its online presence to a study by the German Environment Agency (UBA), which reports TFA values in precipitation of an average of 0.335 μg/L.

Global 2000 Calls for Ban on Pesticide with Forever Chemical

Global 2000 also refers to the German UBA in the context of the demand for a PFAS pesticide ban: According to this, in "regions with a high proportion of arable land, the average TFA values are significantly higher (1.66 μg/L) than in areas where no agricultural inputs are expected, but precipitation is the dominant input path (0.67 μg/L)." According to Burtscher-Schaden, around 16 percent of the plant protection products used are PFAS pesticides - and these should be phased out, according to his demand to the Ministry of Agriculture.

The Chamber of Agriculture (LKÖ) pointed out in a statement that the mentioned TFA is a degradation product of many PFAS present in the air from industrial products and emissions. Global 2000 was criticized for "repeatedly attributing this issue entirely to their 'favorite enemy agriculture.' This results in an "unserious campaign that does not correspond to the facts and is completely one-sided."

Criticism from Chamber of Agriculture after Global 2000 Test

"The example of the Vienna water cited by Global 2000 today with the mentioned 350ng TFA shows that a ban on plant protection products would have no impact, as the catchment area of these sources is primarily forest and grassland, while plant protection is not an issue there," it continued. It was also pointed out that the issue of PFAS "is being intensively addressed at the EU level in various areas of life and economy."

Environmental organizations have long been calling for stricter regulations in the case of TFA, and Global 2000 again referred to a study from 2021 that showed severe malformations in rabbit fetuses due to the chemical and the resulting suspicion that human reproduction could also be at risk. TFA is an "extremely stable" degradation product (metabolite) of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), which are found in plant protection products as well as in impregnations for textiles, leather and paper goods, fire-fighting foam, cosmetics, or food packaging.

Regarding the handling of the predecessor chemical PFAS, the Austrian Ministry of the Environment presented an action plan last year to reduce the burden of "forever chemicals." The European Commission also restricted the use of a subgroup of so-called PFAS chemicals in 2024.

(APA/red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.