Latest news with #PANEurope
Agriland
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Agriland
PAN Europe calls for action to ‘save our drinking water'
The European Pesticide Action Network (PAN Europe) has called on the European Commission to take immediate action to ban PFAS pesticides in order to 'save our drinking water'. This week (May 14 -15) EU member states are meeting behind closed doors to discuss a ban on flutolanil, one of the PFAS pesticides that release trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). This reprotoxic 'forever chemical' contaminates drinking water resources and plant-based food across the EU. According to PAN Europe, the European Commission presented a legislative proposal to ban flutolanil in December (2024), but the decision has been stalled due to the failure of member states to reach an agreement. Environmental chemist and PAN Europe member, Helmut Burtscher-Schaden said: 'Recent tests of European wines have revealed worryingly high and rising levels of TFA. This should serve as a clear wake-up call, political indecision must not be allowed to further endanger public health.' PAN Europe claims that flutolanil breaks down into TFA, a harmful and persistent pollutant that exceeds legal limits in groundwater for pesticide approvals. It believes that a ban on flutolanil is crucial, as it sets a precedent for the regulation of the remaining 30 PFAS pesticides, all of which contribute to TFA pollution, and that failure to act would mean accepting the continued and unacceptable rise of TFA contamination in our drinking water and food. Policy officer at PAN Europe, Salome Roynel said: 'EU law demands a ban on such substances, yet member states continue to delay action. They must now take responsibility and support its ban.' Pesticides Last month (April 2025), Uisce Éireann confirmed that 66 pesticide exceedances were detected in public drinking water supplies in Ireland last year, compared to 52 exceedances in 2023. In 2024, the national water utility carried out 34,000 analyses of samples from public drinking water supplies. The number of pesticide exceedances in public drinking water supplies in Ireland has decreased significantly since 2017, by more than 50%. While the overall compliance rate remains very high, Uisce Éireann said that all stakeholders must make sustained efforts and be vigilant to protect drinking water quality.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Rising levels of ‘forever chemical' TFA found in European wines
Increasing levels of the trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) 'forever chemical' have been detected in European wines produced since 2010, according to new research. The 'Message in a Bottle' study, published by non-profit group Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe), assessed 49 old and "recent" wines harvested between 1974 and 2024. Wines from 10 EU countries were analysed, including Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Sweden. TFA is part of the family of chemicals known as PFAS , or per- and polyfluoroalkyl synthetic compounds. The substance was not detected in wines produced before 1988, but wines made since 2010 showed a "sharp increase" in contamination, PAN Europe said. Wines produced specifically between 2021-2024, or recent wines, contained an average level of 122 micrograms per litre, with some reaching more than 300 micrograms per litre. Average TFA levels varied across the wines, but all countries assessed had wines containing TFA levels "several orders of magnitude higher than the already high background levels in water", the study found, with wines from Austria being "particularly affected". Helmut Burtscher-Schaden, environmental chemist at Austrian environmental organisation Global 2000 and the study's "initiator", described the findings as "alarming in two respects" - the first being that they point to significant bioaccumulation of the TFA forever chemical in plants, and the second "more concerning" factor being the increase in TFA contamination since 2010. "We are likely ingesting significantly more TFA through our diet than previously assumed," he said. "Urgent action is needed to stop further TFA emissions into the environment." Policy officer at PAN's European branch, Salome Roynel, called the latest discovery "a clear wake-up call for the EU". She added: "Substances that release TFA into the environment must be removed from the market without delay. This must start with an immediate ban on all PFAS pesticides - a direct and easily preventable source of TFA pollution - along with a ban on F-gases.' EU member states are due to vote on a European Commission proposal to ban a PFAS pesticide called flutolanil, which releases TFA, next month, according to Roynel. 'We hope they understand that this is a decisive moment for the future of our water, our food, and ultimately our health, and vote to support its ban." Just Drinks has contacted European wine trade body the Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins (CEEV) for comment. A study published in July also found large quantities of the PFAS forever chemicals in humans consuming white rice, eggs, red meat, seafood and coffee. Posted on Elsevier's Science Direct website, the research looked into dietary sources of PFAS and found high levels in blood and breast milk samples from more than 1,500 mothers in New Hampshire in the US collected since 2009. "Rising levels of 'forever chemical' TFA found in European wines – study" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
