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Key messages: Teenagers in Europe face health risks from exposure to toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) according to a series of studies conducted between 2014 and 2021. Of the teenagers who participated in the studies, an average of 14.3% had blood levels above the health-based guidance value (HBGV), with two countries exceeding 20%. Given the large number of PFAS and their widespread use, these results highlight the need for further upstream restrictions of these substances as a group, to limit human exposure to other PFAS substances not yet regulated.
Share of teenagers in Europe exposed to PFAS levels exceeding the EFSA health-based guidance value (HBGV), 2014-2021
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Chemicals are prioritised for human biomonitoring based on their health risks and EU policy relevance. PFAS is one such prioritised group of synthetic chemicals, toxic to both human health and the environment. Found in everyday items such as clothes, cosmetics and even food wrappers, PFAS are also called ‘forever chemicals’ as some do not break down in the environment and therefore accumulate over time.
Nine studies carried out in eight EU countries and Norway calculated the PFAS risk as the ratio between the exposure levels measured in the general European teenager population (12- to 18-year-olds) for four different types of PFAS and the European Food Safety Authority’s established health-based guidance value (HBGV) for these substances. A ratio greater than 1 implies that health risks from PFAS cannot be excluded.
For the 2014-2021 period covered by the studies, the risk of adverse health effects from the four PFAS could not be excluded, on average, for 14.3% of the tested teenagers. The exceedances of HBGV levels ranged from 1.34 % in Spain to up to 23.78% in France. The measured PFAS are currently regulated in the EU.
The studies show geographical differences in exposure to the four PFAS and their sum, with higher median values observed in northern and western Europe. The main source of PFAS exposure for the general population (as compared to occupational exposure) have been shown to be through diet but some exposure also occurs through the skin via cosmetics and clothing.
Only a series of PFAS is currently regulated by EU legislation, including the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Regulation,the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation, and the Drinking Water Directive. A broad REACH restriction proposal was submitted to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in 2023 by five national authorities to phase out the use of all persistent PFAS (around 10,000 substances) with time limited derogations. The breadth of this proposed restriction follows the grouping approach for preventing regrettable substitution of chemicals, as promoted under the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS). Addressing all substances of similar structures would ensure that chemicals are not replaced with substances that have comparable hazardous properties and thereby help reduce the risk to both human health and the environment.
In combination with environmental monitoring, future human biomonitoring will be essential to track long-term trends of previously- and currently-used chemicals like PFAS while detecting emerging chemicals of concern in, for example, cases of regrettable substitutions. The EU Partnership for the Assessment of Risk from Chemicals (PARC) will help deliver on this.
Relevant objectives under the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability
- Restore human health and environment to a good quality status
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Other relevant indicators and signals
References and footnotes
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- ↵Ingelido, A. M., et al., 2018, ‘Biomonitoring of perfluorinated compounds in adults exposed to contaminated drinking water in the Veneto Region, Italy’, Environment International 110, pp. 149-159.
- ↵Numata, J., et al., 2014, ‘Toxicokinetics of seven perfluoroalkyl sulfonic and carboxylic acids in pigs fed a contaminated diet’, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 62(28), pp. 6861-6870.
- ↵EU, 2019, Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on persistent organic pollutants (recast) (Text with EEA relevance.) (OJ L 169, 25.6.2019, pp. 45-77).
- ↵EU, 2006, Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC (OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, pp. 1-849).
- ↵EU, 2020, Directive (EU) 2020/2184 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020 on the quality of water intended for human consumption (recast) (OJ L 435, 23.12.2020, pp. 1-62).
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- ↵Ehresman, D. J., et al., 2007, ‘Comparison of human whole blood, plasma, and serum matrices for the determination of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and other fluorochemicals’, Environmental Research 103(2), pp. 176-184.
- ↵Gilles, L., et al., 2021, ‘HBM4EU combines and harmonises human biomonitoring data across the EU, building on existing capacity – The HBM4EU survey’, International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 237, p. 113809.
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- ↵Lobo Vicente, J., et al., 2022, ‘AD5.3 Case-study report on HBM-indicators’, HBM4EU (https://www.hbm4eu.eu/result/deliverables/) accessed 18 August 2022.