Recent measurements by De Watergroep show that concentrations of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a persistent PFAS, are very high in the Belgian region of Flanders. The figures show the need for urgent action to protect our health and the environment. To PAN Europe, Bond Beter Leefmilieu, Velt and Natuurpunt, a ban on the use of PFAS-containing pesticides seems inevitable for this. Yet Environment Minister Brouns proposes just the opposite: a TFA standard no less than seven times higher than those in Wallonia and the Netherlands. Irresponsible, argue the four organisations.
Pesticides major source of sky-high TFA concentrations
TFA concentrations measured in Flanders are by far the highest in Europe to date, based on available measurements. TFA (trifluoroacetic acid, a ‘forever chemical’) is an ultra-short-chain PFAS that accumulates in groundwater and was not monitored, and thus not reduced, for years. Reporting by the Flemish Radio and TV VRT shows that TFA is found in drinking water basins across Flanders. The highest values are seen in West Flanders, where the Water Group measured values of up to 12 micrograms per litre. Pesticides containing PFAS are one of the main sources of TFA in groundwater, especially in rural areas (1). There are still 35 PFAS substances authorised for use in pesticide products in the European Union today. A phase-out of pesticides containing these substances is crucial to protect our vulnerable drinking water supply.
Health risks necessitate lower standard
TFA is linked to health risks. With chronic exposure, such as drinking water, scientists point to significant risks. The German Chemicals Agency proposes to nominate TFA as suspected reproductive toxicant (Reprotox1B) (2). In addition, the proposed classifications include ‘very persistent and very mobile’ (vPvM), and ‘persistent, mobile and toxic’ (PMT). These classification proposals ensure that TFA should be considered a ‘relevant metabolite’. This is subject to a standard of 0.1 micrograms per litre (µg/L). This standard is widely exceeded in TFA measurements, especially in West Flanders, where values up to 12 µg/L are measured (Zillebeke). The standard for total PFAS proposed at EU level is 0.5 µg/L.
Proposal high standard Flanders is indefensible
Wallonia uses a standard of 2.2 µg/L, based on advice from the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). In Flanders, Environment Minister Jo Brouns proposes a limit of 15.6 micrograms, as much as 7 times the Walloon guide value. Concentrations that would cause exceedances in Wallonia and the Netherlands are therefore apparently not a problem in Flanders. Moreover, recent insights that the substance is potentially harmful to reproduction may also significantly tighten this Dutch standard.
‘Experience shows that the standard of hazardous substances gets lower and lower over time as insights progress. We drink the water and give it to our children. We should not take risks with that. It is incomprehensible that Flanders is taking a big gamble with health and proposing a seven times higher standard,’ argues PAN Europe's Tjerk Dalhuisen.
‘Minister Brouns' reaction is also at odds with the precautionary principle. The fact that there is still uncertainty about the risks of TFA is precisely a reason to have a strict standard.’ argues Geert Gommers of Velt.
According to the European Sustainable Pesticide Use Directive (3), the Water Framework Directive, the Soil and Drinking Water Directive, Member States are obliged to protect the aquatic environment and drinking water. For instance, pesticide-free buffer zones and protection zones must be demarcated to protect aquatic organisms, water bodies and drinking water. The use of pesticides is a regional competence. Flanders fails to effectively protect water zones and other vulnerable areas from pesticides, and was summoned to do so as early as 2023 by some environmental organisations.
Ban on pesticides containing PFAS essential
The fact that TFA, like other PFAS, is difficult to remove and leads to high social costs, makes tackling the problem at source essential, for instance through a ban on the use of PFAS pesticides . The Water Group and Water-link also indicate that pollution from pesticides and industry should be reduced as much as possible (4). Recently, 49 environmental organisations (5) called for an EU wide ban on the widely used herbicide Flufenacet, a PFAS pesticide, which the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded is also an endocrine disruptor. It is one of the major sources of TFA in our water. Germany plans to ban Flufenacet (6).
“The Flemish government should launch a new pesticide plan in the coming months. A phasing-out plan for pesticides containing PFAS and other difficult-to-remove substances, solid pesticide-free buffer zones to protect our drinking water supply, and budgets for research into alternatives, are indispensable in this,” states Heleen De Smet of Bond Beter Leefmilieu.
“In the Blankaart, the area currently in the spotlight and where very high values are recorded, volunteers have been working for years to improve nature,” says Robin Verachtert of Natuurpunt. “And with success, as white-tailed eagles are breeding there again. But sustainable nature restoration stands or falls with good water quality for people and animals. There is no more time to fiddle at the margins with PFAS and pesticides.”
A group of international scientists warned last month that the TFA problem is a threat to global drinking water supplies. They propose adding TFA to the list of planetary boundaries (7). Because TFA accumulates in groundwater, delaying necessary action will only exacerbate the problem. With the high need for a new ambitious pesticide plan, the minister has a prime opportunity to address this issue coherently, quickly and appropriately.
Contact:
- Tjerk Dalhuisen, tjerk [at] pan-europe.info, 0031 614 699 126, PAN Europe
- Kristine De Schamphelaere, kristine [at] pan-europe.info, 0032 473 96 11 20, PAN Europe
- Heleen De Smet, heleen.desmet [at] bblv.be, 0032 489 396 290, Bond Beter Leefmilieu
- Robin Verachtert, robin.verachtert [at] natuurpunt.be, 0032 497 05 22 62, Natuurpunt
References - More information:
TFA - The Forever Chemical in the Water We Drink
TFA in Water - PFAS Legacy Under the Radar
Our drinking water is in danger: widespread contamination with TFA
Notes:
- Trifluoracetat (TFA): Grundlagen für eine effektive Minimierung schaffen - Räumliche Analyse der Eintragspfade in den Wasserkreislauf & Pesticides can be a substantial source of trifluoroacetate (TFA) to water resources
- German Chemicals Office Plans EU Proposal Linking TFA to Reproductive Toxicity & Registry of CLH intentions until outcome - Trifluoroacetic acid
- RICHTLIJN 2009/128/EG VAN HET EUROPEES PARLEMENT EN DE RAAD van 21 oktober 2009 tot vaststelling van een kader voor communautaire actie ter verwezenlijking van een duurzaam gebruik van pesticiden
- Kleinste soort PFAS duikt op in Vlaams drinkwater: "Lozingen door industrie en pesticiden moeten teruggedrongen worden" & Kleinste PFAS-variant aangetroffen in Vlaams drinkwater: onduidelijk wat gezondheidsrisico is
- Top-Selling PFAS Herbicide Flufenacet Confirmed Harmful by EFSA: 49 Environmental Groups Call for Emergency Ban
- Bundesamt verbietet zahlreiche Pestizide
- The Global Threat from the Irreversible Accumulation of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA)
