Environment and Health: Forever Chemicals Pollution
Commission is risking the health of Europeans by whitewashing PFAS* in drinking water
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Press release Copenhagen, 1/7/2025
Environment and Health: Forever Chemicals Pollution Commission is risking the health of Europeans by whitewashing PFAS* in drinking water |
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Today, the Greens/EFA requested the European Commission to address health risks associated with PFAS in European drinking water.
An article by FTM.eu published today highlights serious problems with the Commission's guidelines for PFAS in drinking water. Already last January, an independent investigation had shown that inaction with regard to PFAS contamination would cost €100 billion per year for 20 years. |
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Cristina Guarda MEP, Greens/EFA Member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, comments:
“The European Commission has a duty to protect public health, not the interests of the chemical industry. We call on the Commission to immediately clarify every aspect raised by this new inquiry. Last Thurdsay, we won against Miteni sentenced to up to 17 years prison for PFAS pollution of water used by hundreds of thousands of people around Vicenza.
TFA seriously threatens the safety of our drinking water, and must not be excluded from compliance with the limits set by the Drinking Water Directive. This issue highlights that the only way to address PFAS pollution is to ban all non-essential uses of PFAS”
Bas Eickhout, Copresident of the Greens-EFA comments:
"The European Commission is whitewashing PFAS pollution in our drinking water, endangering the health of European citizens. While we see evidence mounting on the omnipresence of PFAS everywhere, even in our blood, we see the Commission correcting measurement results instead of fixing problems. The Commission needs to show they protect the health of Europeans, fix this drinking water directive and urgently phase-out PFAS. Let’s put the health of our citizens above the vested interests of the chemical industry.
More: - Link to Priority Written Question to the European Commission: https://extranet.greens-efa-service.eu/public/media/file/1/9057 - On Miteni Trial 26/06/2025: https://www.greens-efa.eu/en/article/press/miteni-trial-pfas-must-be-banned-in-the-eu - (*) Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances derived from synthetic chemistry better known as “Forever Chemicals”. PFAS have been linked to a dozen illnesses. |
