EU Commission Set to Propose Ban on Pesticides Due to TFA pollution
Over the past few months, more evidence has emerged about the widespread contamination of rivers, tap water, and even mineral water across Europe with the persistent chemical TFA (trifluoroacetic acid). This substance is found to be harmful to reproduction. We have even found it in half of the mineral waters we tested. Tomorrow, for the first time, the EU Commission will present proposals at the relevant committee of Member States against the re-approval of the pesticide active substances flufenacet and flutolanil. These two belong to the group of PFAS pesticides, the primary source of TFA contamination in European groundwater and drinking water.
Our reports earlier this year revealed that TFA contaminates surface and tap water all over Europe. Following these findings, the Wallonie region in Belgium tested the tap water in the region and found TFA in 598 out of 642 tested areas (93%). [1] In early November, the Flemish TV, revealed after an access to document request that the situation in parts of Flanders was even worse with alarmingly high concentrations in the agricultural regions. [2] More recently, the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment published the result of a countrywide study, showing alarming levels of TFA in groundwater. The main source was PFAS pesticides. [3]
The fact that TFA permeates all environmental compartments in concentrations “orders of magnitude higher than those of other PFAS” - and any other pesticide or metabolite - has recently prompted leading scientists to sound the alarm. In their paper [4] they warn that the irreversible accumulation of TFA in the environment poses a global threat and emphasize the need for “binding actions to reduce the emissions of TFA and its many precursors”.
Our campaign also tested mineral waters. Testing conducted by PAN Europe members revealed that TFA was detected in 10 out of 19 mineral water samples, with concentrations from above the limit of quantification (50 ng/L) to as high as 3,200 nanograms per litre (ng/L). This is 32 times the threshold limit for relevant metabolites in drinking water. The full results of these mineral water tests are published for the first time in the link below.
Water companies are not to blame for this pollution. Mineral water should be pristine and not contaminated by man made chemicals. These findings show that TFA goes everywhere and urgent action is needed to protect our water. The first step is to ban the most widespread sources of TFA, the PFAS pesticides.
"The ban of these two PFAS pesticides proposed by the EU Commission is legally required,” says Salomé Roynel, policy officer at PAN Europe. "It is a crucial step towards reducing TFA emissions. There is no place for reprotoxic residues in our water and food. We call on Member States to follow the law and the science. We ask them to prioritise protection of human health and the environment, and swiftly adopt these bans."
Helmut Burtscher-Schaden, biochemist at GLOBAL 2000 – Friends of the Earth Austria, adds: "For years, calls from European water suppliers, scientists and environmentalists for a precautionary approach to pollutants that endanger groundwater have been ignored. As a result we are now facing TFA contamination that, according to leading scientists, is a planetary boundary threat. The consequences we face today are serious."
The reproductive toxicity of TFA, confirmed [5] by the PFAS manufacturer Bayer through self-classification just a few months ago, makes the substance a toxicologically ‘relevant metabolite’ for PFAS pesticides. According to European law, pesticides cannot be approved if their toxicologically relevant metabolites like TFA exceed 0.1 µg/L in groundwater and drinking water—a limit already being widely breached. Moreover, large-scale removal of TFA using conventional drinking water treatment methods does not appear to be feasible. All PFAS pesticides must be banned, to protect our waters. A ban on flufenacet and flutolanil is the first step.
The proposal to ban flufenacet reads: “The European Food Safety Authority also identified a very high potential for groundwater contamination by the flufenacet metabolite trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). TFA is considered a toxicologically relevant metabolite since its intrinsic hazard properties concerning developmental toxicity are of concern, even leading to a proposal for classification as toxic for reproduction Category 1B under Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008” [6]
In the proposal to ban flutolanil TFA plays an important role. “Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is a major metabolite of flutolanil in rotational crops,” according to the review report. [7]
Mineral water test results by PAN Europe and members
Contact:
- Dr Helmut Burtscher-Schaden, GLOBAL 2000 - Friends of the Earth Austria, Biochemist, +43 699 14 2000 34, helmut.burtscher [at] global2000.at
- Salomé Roynel, PAN Europe, Policy Officer, +32 2 318 62 55, salome [at] pan-europe.info
Notes:
[1] Test results of TFA in tap water in the Belgian regian Wallonie, Oct 17, 2024
[2] Test results of TFA in tap water in the Belgian region of Flanders, revealed by TV organisation VRT after an Access to Documents request, Nov 15 2024
[3] Presentation of the national groundwater monitoring in Switzerland, November 15, 2024. TFA is found everywhere, but in much higher concentrations in agricultural areas.
[4] The Global Threat from the Irreversible Accumulation of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA), Hans Peter Arp et al, October 30, 2024
[5] Summary report of SCoPAFF meeting of May 22 and 23, 2024, point A 10.6: “The Commission also noted that TFA should be considered as a relevant metabolite in groundwater since the applicant has self-classified TFA under REACH as toxic for reproduction category 2 (R2). In addition, Germany intends to submit a dossier for harmonised classification and labelling to ECHA proposing classification as toxic for reproduction category 1B (R1B). It was noted by the Commission as well as one Member State that this would have impacts on decisions.”
[6] EU Commission proposal to ban Flufenacet
[7] Review report on Flutolanil
Timeline:
July 2023: The German Environmental Agency UBA reveals that pesticides are the main source of TFA water pollution in rural areas. See the report, UBA July 2023.
November 2023: PAN Europe and Générations Futures expose the existence and dangers of 37 PFAS pesticides authorised in Europe at that moment - Europe's Toxic Harvest: Unmasking PFAS Pesticides Authorised in Europe
May 2024: PAN Europe and members present an overview of surface water tests from 11 EU countries - TFA in Water: Dirty PFAS Legacy Under the Radar
June 2024: German chemical Agency: Proposal to European Chemical Agency ECHA to classify TFA as toxic to reproduction 1 B
July 2024: PAN Europe and members present an overview of tap water tests from 11 EU countries - TFA: The Forever Chemical in the Water We Drink
October 2024: The Walloon region in Belgium presents the results of tap water test in the region: Le TFA dans les eaux de distribution en Wallonie, Health and Environment Wallonia, 17 October 17 2024.
Scientists identify TFA water pollution as a global threat: The Global Threat from the Irreversible Accumulation of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA), Hans Peter Arp et al, October 30, 2024
November 2024: Test results of TFA in tap water in the Belgian region of Flanders, revealed by TV organisation VRT after an Access to Documents request, Nov 15, 2024
Presentation of the national groundwater monitoring in Switzerland, November 15, 2024. TFA is found everywhere, but in much higher concentrations in agricultural areas, confirming similar findings of the German UBA.
December 2024: EU Commission proposes to ban Flufenacet and Flutolanil (C.07 and C.08 on the agenda).
