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Concerns about PFAS pollution have increased in many European countries but comprehensive monitoring data are often limited. Published today, the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) assessment shows that most monitored rivers, transitional and coastal waters and a large part of lakes in Europe are polluted with at least one of the many extremely persistent chemical compounds that are deemed harmful for people and nature.
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The EEA briefing ‘PFAS pollution in European waters’ provides a first overview of the problem with the so-called ‘forever chemicals’ in rivers, lakes, transitional and coastal waters in Europe. PFAS pollution in water can harm human health and the environment.
PFOS is one of the approximate 10,000 compounds in the large group of PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals’ due to their extreme persistence in the environment. Based on 2022 data from about 1,300 monitoring sites in Europe, 59% of sites in rivers, 35% of sites in lakes, and 73% of sites in transitional and coastal waters exceeded the environmental quality standard for PFOS.
The EEA briefing notes that it is still hard to draw conclusions on the extent of the problem across Europe, due to uncertainties and gaps in the reported data. However, the results do highlight a challenge in delivering on the objectives of the zero pollution ambition for a toxic-free environment and in achieving good chemical status under the Water Framework Directive.
To better understand the extent of the PFAS pollution problem in Europe, more sensitive analytical methods and expanding the range of substances and the geographical coverage are needed, the EEA briefing states.
The new evidence presented in the EEA briefing supports the current proposal amending the Water Framework Directive to expand the list of priority substances (i.e. by including more PFAS) and the need to review the PFAS limits specified in the Drinking Water Directive. The evidence also supports the European Water Resilience Strategy, which is expected as a priority initiative of the new European Commission.
The current EU policy target under the Water Framework Directive is to achieve good chemical status for Europe’s water bodies by 2027. According to the EEA’s recent ‘Europe’s state of water’ assessment, only 29% of Europe’s waters achieved good chemical status over the 2015-2021 period. The EU zero pollution vision for 2050 is for air, water and soil pollution to be reduced to levels no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems.
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