They are all around us, and we use them more often than we realize. In nature, they hardly decompose and can be toxic to the human body. We are talking about perfluorinated and polyfluorinated compounds, or PFAS. Due to their strong chemical bond between hydrogen and fluorine, they are nicknamed “forever chemicals.” Czech scientists even find them in breast milk.
PFAS are popular mainly for their properties. Fast food packaging doesn’t get soaked with grease, eggs don’t stick to Teflon pans, and hiking boots with Gore-Tex membranes are waterproof. They are used in firefighting foams, semiconductor manufacturing, medical devices, plant protection products, animal feed, pharmaceuticals, and paints.
However, we pay a double price for their useful properties. These indestructible substances permanently burden the environment, and we introduce them into our bodies, where they can cause cancer or endocrine diseases. Many of these substances are proven to be toxic. They are listed in the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, such as PFOA and PFOS, and are therefore banned from use.
Infants are also exposed to PFAS
Forever chemicals enter the body through water, food consumption, or even by inhaling contaminated dust in enclosed spaces. In 2020, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) set limits for the tolerable weekly intake for the sum of four substances (PFOA, PFNA, PFHxS, and PFOS) at just 4.4 nanograms per kilogram of body weight per week.
The European Commission also introduced maximum limits for PFAS in certain animal-based foods, such as eggs, meat, fish, fishery products, and shellfish, starting from January 2023.
However, according to the Ministry of Health spokesperson Ondřej Jakob, it is necessary to regularly reassess the current maximum limits to reduce them as much as possible. “In addition, it is essential to establish new maximum limits for PFAS in other foods,” Jakob wrote to Ekonews.
The National Institute of Public Health (SZÚ) first analyzed PFAS compounds in breast milk as part of biological monitoring in 2013. Archived samples from 2006, 2010, and 2011 were tested. Since 2014, PFAS have been regularly included in Czech monitoring.
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which was still in use at the time, was found in all breast milk samples. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), which was gradually being phased out, was found in about 60% of the samples. Since 2006, the concentrations of banned PFOA and PFOS in breast milk have been decreasing according to the health institute. However, a large number of alternative substances, many of which may have similar toxic effects, have been used uncontrollably for years, warns the National Institute of Public Health on its website.
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which was still in use at the time, was found in all breast milk samples. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), which was gradually being phased out, was found in about 60% of the samples. Since 2006, the concentrations of banned PFOA and PFOS in breast milk have been decreasing according to the health institute. However, a large number of alternative substances, many of which may have similar toxic effects, have been used uncontrollably for years, warns the National Institute of Public Health on its website.
The Biomonitoring Commission of the German Federal Environment Agency has set threshold values for health risks related to PFOA and PFOS levels in blood. “When compared, we found that nearly a quarter of individuals exceed these values. A similar situation exists in Germany and other European countries. Based on human biomonitoring studies, it can be said that the vast majority of the population is permanently exposed to certain doses of PFAS compounds,” said Andrea Krsková from the Center for Health and Environment at the National Institute of Public Health (SZÚ).
According to the institute’s information, in 2018, the “health-relevant limit values” for PFOA were exceeded in 26.8% of samples and for PFOS in 21.3% of samples among adult Czechs.
Funding for testing is decreasing.
At the Institute of Natural Sciences at Masaryk University, which focuses on research and education in environmental and health risks related to chemicals around us, they have extensive experience with PFAS. The highest levels of PFAS at the RECETOX center, as the institute is also known, were measured in the blood of young adults and pregnant women, specifically for the two historically most used substances in the group, PFOA and PFOS.
“Today, however, we commonly determine perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) in human blood, and initial long-term results indicate an increase in these still-permitted substances in the population. However, the concentrations of the twelve measured PFAS are comparable to or lower than in other European countries,” says Klára Komprdová from RECETOX.
The risk to the population, according to scientists, needs to be assessed for the entire mixture of PFAS and other chemicals. Komprdová points out that even after the production and use of PFOA and PFOS has been restricted , the levels of other PFAS may increase in the future, and the effects of chemical mixtures could be even more significant. Therefore, it is necessary to continue monitoring them.
“For example, in terms of neurotoxicity, which is a suitable indicator of healthy prenatal development, more than 81% of children were at potential risk from a mixture of substances with known neurotoxic effects in 2019 (in addition to PFAS, this mixture includes other substances such as bisphenols and pesticides). However, these results do not mean that 81% of children will have a neurodevelopmental disorder; we can only indicate an increased probability of its occurrence,” explains Jan Kalina from RECETOX.
According to Jana Klánová, professor of environmental chemistry and director of the RECETOX center, human monitoring in the Czech Republic is significantly underfunded. This is crucial for evaluating the overall health risks of various PFAS mixtures to the population.
“The Czech Republic initiated its biomonitoring program in the early 1990s as one of the first countries in Europe. However, in the last ten years, no funds have been released for annual testing, and its frequency continues to decline,” says the scientist.
According to her, this data cannot be replaced by anything else. For example, the risk to the human body cannot be inferred from air contamination.
Sources are all around us
“Forever chemicals,” or PFAS, are everywhere around us, and we all have them in our bodies. Lawmakers at the European level are therefore discussing a blanket ban on this entire group of substances. It is already clear that due to pressure from certain industries, the ban will be significantly “diluted.” Before it comes into effect, there will also be many exceptions and delays for various manufacturers. Moreover, the original “forever chemicals” will not disappear from the environment.
According to findings from the international journalistic collaboration project called Forever Pollution, which mapped PFAS sources and hotspots in Europe, these substances primarily affect Western Europe, where many manufacturers of these chemicals are located.
Although there aren´t significant PFAS manufacturers in the Czech Republic , industrial enterprises often do not even know they are working with them, according to an industry source who wished to remain anonymous. PFAS can be an additive in oils, even in small amounts that do not need to be listed on the product. Consumer goods that subsequently contaminate water and soil, for example through landfills, are also purchased by people in the Czech Republic.
The problem is the presence of PFAS in surface waters, although the extent of the problem has not yet been thoroughly mapped in the Czech Republic. As a result, these substances are also found in fish or sewage sludge, which is applied to agricultural land. According to a team led by Professor Tomáš Cajthaml, director of the Institute for Environmental Studies at the Faculty of Science, Charles University, and head of the Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology at the Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, which examined sludge from forty wastewater treatment plants, sewage sludge is massively contaminated.
Another source is households, where materials contaminated with PFAS are used, such as upholstery or carpets. PFAS then enter the body through dust or hand-to-mouth transfer, which is particularly risky for small children. Pets are not spared either.
“In the Czech Republic, we measured PFAS not only in waters but also in ski resorts, where they concentrate due to their use in ski waxes. We also monitored them in apartments and other spaces, and we saw high concentrations, for example, in outdoor equipment stores. On the other hand, exposure from food chains, where they also come from packaging materials, such as fast food, is less mapped in our country,” adds Klánová from RECETOX.
As for drinking water in the Czech Republic, complete data is still lacking. Many public water supply systems use local surface and groundwater sources for its production. However, standard drinking water treatment facilities are not currently designed to effectively remove PFAS.
In the shadow of climate change
“We need to realize that today we are not facing several isolated problems, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, or chemical pollution. We have entered a so-called triple crisis, where all these negative trends interact and reinforce each other,” says Klánová.
She explains that chemical pollution affects the health of humans and other living organisms, influencing their habitats and survival ability. Climate change, on the other hand, alters the cycle of chemicals in the environment; higher temperatures cause more evaporation into the air, and floods wash out old contaminants from soils or sediments.
“While politicians in Western countries have already learned to perceive the problem holistically, here we always focus on one partial issue, such as reducing CO2,” adds Klánová.
This article is a translation of the original text from Ekonews.cz, created with the support of Journalismfund Europe.
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