A report by the General Inspectorate for the Environment and Sustainable Development (IGEDD) recommends that the government take action ” without delay “ in the face of so-called eternal PFAS pollutants, with a view to improving knowledge and monitoring concerning them and banning them.
“French regulations on industrial emissions still regulate PFAS releases too little and their monitoring in the database is almost non-existent”underlined in the preamble this report, commissioned in February 2022 by Barbara Pompili, then Minister for Ecological Transition, and published this Friday, April 14. The text recommends “to initiate the most urgent risk management actions without delay”.
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Behind the acronym PFAS (pronounced “puff”in English) is a family of synthetic substances (more than 4,700 molecules), developed since the 1940s. Endowed with non-stick and waterproof properties, they are massively present in everyday life: Teflon pans, food packaging, textiles, automobiles…
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Virtually indestructible, hence their nickname, they are described by some experts as “the greatest chemical threat of the 21st century” but deemed partly unavoidable by the industry.
« Report disturbing »
“Knowledge of the health risks associated with the various PFASs is insufficient, even absent (…) but harmful and toxic effects on human metabolism have been observed for several PFASs and their carcinogenicity is suspected”underlines the IGEDD.
Faced with this “disturbing observation”its first recommendation is therefore to“apply the precautionary principle” and to ask the French State “to work for a Reach restriction (reference to the procedure initiated at the beginning of the year by several European countries) leading to a ban on the use, production and import of all PFAS”.
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The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published on February 7 the proposal of five European countries (Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden) to ban PFAS in the EU, which it will assess before submitting a recommendation to Brussels and the Twenty-Seven, for implementation after 2026. This approach has been supported by several States including France.
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The IGEDD report also recommends the “substitution of PFAS whenever possible by less harmful substances”to better inform the public about the risks and the presence of these pollutants in the various products and to initiate a research program to improve knowledge.
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Currently, “France does not regulate any PFAS in the control of raw water and water intended for human consumption” and the “French regulations on industrial emissions still regulate PFAS emissions too little”note the authors of the report, adding that there are similar gaps in controlling PFAS contamination in air and soil.
In December 2022, the government has published a « plan d’action » with a view to better “evaluate the effects of PFAS and thus limit them more strictly” while emphasizing that actions must be taken at European level.
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The ecologist deputy Nicolas Thierry, who considers that this plan is a « diversion »filed a bill on Thursday calling for a ban on PFAS from 2025 when there is an alternative, before a total ban in 2027.
The IGEDD report, blocked according to him and the NGO Robin des Bois for months by the government, is “As worrying as expected”reacted Nicolas Thierry to AFP.
“This is the start of a long fight against a health scandal of unprecedented magnitude. The problem has been known for 20 years and the inaction of the State and industry is culpable” while “Alternatives to PFAS already exist”.
