We drink TFA pesticides in ordinary and mineral water!

The water we drink is not good. Moreover, it is full of pesticides, namely trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), better known as the "eternal chemical". This was confirmed by research at the EU level, where TFA was detected in as many as 94 percent of controlled water samples. The alarmingly high levels of contamination with the perennial chemical trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) discovered recently in European water supplies prompted the organization Pesticide Action Network (PAN Europe) to analyze 55 samples of drinking water (tap water and mineral water) from 11 countries in cooperation with its members. European Union. In order to examine whether TFA also penetrates deep reservoirs of water from which mineral water originates, 17 samples of mineral and 2 samples of spring water were included in the study program. And the results are devastating. 12 out of 19 samples were contaminated with TFA, which enters the water as a breakdown product of PFAS pesticides and F-gases. The results are summarized in the report TFA: The Eternal Chemical in the Water We Drink.

Croatia without controls

Currently, in Croatia, drinking water is not tested and monitored for TFA and other PFAS compounds ((perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkylated substances), leaving citizens exposed to these toxic chemicals without their knowledge. Surely, if appropriate analyzes were carried out, Croatian water pipes and taps would would be full of TFA pollution.This is not how analyzes are carried out, so we have the impression that everything is fine here.

We invite the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition, the Croatian Institute of Public Health and all relevant institutions to take immediate steps to solve the problem of trifluoroacetic acid contamination in Croatian water. Future activities should include regular testing, development and implementation of a strategy to reduce contamination with TFA and other PFAS compounds in drinking water, as well as raising citizens' awareness of sources of contamination and risks of contamination, points out Tara Glaser, a volunteer of the Zemljane staze association.

However, as part of this broad action, one sample was taken from Croatian water supply systems, namely the one from Samobor, where the presence of the "eternal chemical" was also determined.

– The sample taken from the tap in Samobor contains an amount of trifluoroacetic acid below the average of the samples taken. However, this result should by no means be considered positive - TFA is a persistent compound, it does not decompose, that's why it is called an "eternal chemical", which means that its content is very likely to increase, if we do not eliminate the sources of pollution. Also, the possibility that there is no "safety threshold" for this chemical at all cannot be ruled out, as a new study shows a teratogenic potential. Since it can be detected in the part of Croatia with a significant proportion of forests and natural habitats, we should ask ourselves what the results are in agricultural areas where pesticides are intensively used, explains the president of the association Zemljane staze, Natalijva Svrtan.

Toxic chemicals

Although it is an extremely toxic chemical, the impact on human health has been minimally investigated.

Health risks have hardly been investigated

TFA is a very persistent degradation product of PFAS pesticides and F-gases. Despite its widespread presence in waters around the world, there is an insufficient number of studies on environmental and health risks. Risk assessments vary significantly due to differences in the way regulators deal with scarce scientific knowledge.

However, only an urgent ban on PFAS pesticides and F-gases can save our water, EU nature protection experts and toxicologists are unanimous. According to some estimates, an intake of 50 micrograms (μg) of TFA per kilogram of body weight per day is acceptable. However, these limits differ among EU member states, so in Germany the acceptable daily intake is 12.5 μg per day, while in the Netherlands it is only 0.32 μg per day.

This assumption is supported by a recent Bayer study on the reproductive toxicity of TFA in rabbits, which revealed severe fetal malformations. The latest information is that the German Chemicals Agency has recently proposed that TFAs be classified as reproductively toxic in humans and animals.

The good news for now is that the TFA levels we found in most drinking water samples appear to still be within what are considered safe limits based on current knowledge. However, TFA intakes are increasing daily, and the "safety buffer" is already very small. Moreover, we are already overburdened with other PFAS compounds. Therefore, measures must be taken immediately to prevent further contamination with trifluoroacetic acid, points out Helmut Burtscher-Schaden from GLOBAL 2000 – Friends of the Earth Austria.

Although TFA contamination is widespread, there is currently no legal limit for TFA in surface water, groundwater, drinking or mineral water in the EU.

There is no legal regulation

It is not until 2026 that the standard limit value for “total PFAS” of 500 ng/L in drinking water comes into force. By definition, this value includes TFA because it is a PFAS compound. However, when the Commission proposed this value, it was not considered that existing amounts of TFA would exceed this limit. Half of the analyzed tap water samples exceed the threshold value of 500 ng/L for “total PFAS”, if TFA is included in this parameter.

Sara Johansson, senior legal affairs officer for water pollution prevention at EEB, says that from

from a legal perspective, TFA has been and remains an 'invisible' chemical until now.

– The lack of quality standards for groundwater or surface water and the absence of TFA limits for drinking water have led to widespread chemical contamination that has flown under the radar. With the update of water pollution standards regulated by the Water Framework Directive, this could change: European institutions now have the opportunity to set the course for water protection – they owe it to their citizens. According to Johansson, people have the right to healthy water.

The widespread occurrence and high concentrations of TFA in drinking water raise questions about toxicological and legal implications, and since there is no appropriate legal regulation at the level of the EU and thus the national legislation of the Republic of Croatia, consumers are given a false sense of security that they are drinking healthy and high-quality water , which is still a polluted "invisible" chemical.

More information about what water to drink, how much water we should drink...HERE

 

Source: Free Dalmatia