The questionable chemical trifluoroacetate (TFA) is consistently detectable in Austrian drinking water, environmental chemist Helmut Burtscher-Schaden reported at a press conference in Vienna on Wednesday. They are considered perpetual chemicals because they take an incredibly long time to break down.
In a petition to state and federal governors, environmental advocacy group Global 2000 is calling for an “immediate ban” on the top sources of trans fats: certain agricultural pesticides (PFAS pesticides) and coolants (F-gases).
Environmental activists from Global 2000 and the European Pesticide Action Network (PAN Europe) took tap and bottled water samples in eleven EU countries, including Austria, Germany and Hungary, in the spring of 2024. They then had them analysed for TFA. This substance is one of the per- and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds, or PFAS, that are increasingly being banned in the European Union because of their many adverse health effects. It is the ‘end breakdown product’ of around 2,000 PFAS and is considered a ‘forever chemical’ due to its high persistence, according to Burtscher-Schaden (Global 2000).
Many mineral water bottles were also contaminated
The environmentalists were able to detect TFA in 32 samples from public drinking water networks and two samples from private Austrian domestic wells. Only two water samples from Germany contained no detectable amounts of TFA, they report. Mineral and spring water sold in bottles also contained TFA in almost two-thirds of cases. “However, the average amount of impurities in mineral and spring water was significantly lower than in tap water,” the environmental chemist said.
Most monsters within the limit
Mineral and spring water bottles contained an average of 278 billionths of a gram (nanogram) of TFA per liter and the maximum value there was 3200 nanograms per liter. For tap water, a tap water sample from Upper Austria contained an average of 740 nanograms per liter with a maximum value of 4100 nanograms per liter. According to a risk analysis by a European health authority (RIVM) based on current knowledge, 2200 nanograms per liter would be an appropriate guideline for drinking water. “This limit was met by 94 percent of the samples examined,” says the Global 2000 report.
“However, a standard limit for ‘total PFAS’ of 500 nanograms per litre in drinking water will come into force in the EU in 2026,” the report continues. About half of the tap water samples tested would exceed this limit due to their TFA contamination. If the entry of trans fatty acids into drinking water is not stopped, it would have to be artificially treated using expensive technical purification processes, environmentalists say.
Lots of agriculture, lots of eternal chemicals
The main cause of drinking water contamination with TFA is believed to be the agricultural use of pesticides containing PFAS (e.g. as antifoaming agents, note). In areas with a lot of agricultural land such as Upper and Lower Austria, Styria and Burgenland, TFA levels are said to be significantly higher than in Salzburg, Carinthia, Vorarlberg, Vienna and Tyrol. Global 2000 is therefore calling in a petition to the state governors and the federal government in Austria for an immediate ban on PFAS pesticides. Farmers should also be supported so that they can use alternative crop protection methods. In addition, TFA probably often ends up in drinking water via “fluorinated gases (F-gases)”, which are used as coolants. These should also be banned immediately, it was said.
In May, environmental activists from PAN and Global 2000 had already discovered TFA in 23 rivers and six wells in Austria and other EU countries.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
