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Rainwater is no longer drinkable

A current Swedish study shows that rainwater around the world is so heavily contaminated with chemicals that it should no longer be drunk anywhere. The responsible substances (PFAS) are very difficult to break down in nature and are therefore often referred to as “forever chemicals”.

Author: Walter Feichtinger

The accused criminal chemicals have a good name: per- and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds ( PFAS ). These include over 4,000 different substances that have been and are still being used over decades in the production of products as diverse as textiles, household goods and food. People also don't want to do without them in firefighting, the automotive industry, the construction industry and the electronics industry.

One of the substances from this group, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid ( PFOS ), has been banned in Europe since 2010. And a number of EU states, including Norway, Sweden, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, are currently preparing application ECHA ) that would severely restrict the use of PFAS.

Structural formula of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS)
Structural formula of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) ( source )

Health risk

According to the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety ( AGES ), PFAS enter the human body mainly through food intake: fish, fruit, eggs and drinking water. Once in the body, these substances bind to proteins in the blood and are difficult to excrete . They then accumulate in the blood and liver. PFAS also pass into breast milk and enter the child's body during breastfeeding.

PFAS have a low acute toxicity, so they do not pose any further risk if consumed at high levels in the short term. The health effects become apparent when they are present in the human body for a longer period of time: “reduced immune response to vaccinations, increased cholesterol levels, toxic developmental effects in the unborn child such as delayed development of the mammary gland and lower birth weight, as well as the development of kidney and testicular cancer in adults”.

PFAS in rainwater

A study by Stockholm University on August 2, 2022 has now discovered something shocking: rainwater worldwide is so heavily contaminated with these chemicals that nowhere else is it of drinking water quality. Even in places as remote as Antarctica or the Tibetan plateau, the amounts found exceed 14 times the limit values ​​recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for drinking water: four trillionths of a gram per liter of water for PFOA . Study leader Ian Cousins ​​puts it very harshly:

“We have irreversibly polluted the planet.”

It was originally assumed that PFAS would eventually end up in the ocean and become highly diluted and therefore harmless. a 2021 study provided evidence that certain PFAS can become significantly enriched in sea spray aerosols and transported in the atmosphere back to shore. There they accumulate and can contaminate fresh water, drinking water and surface soils. This is also how they get into our food.

outlook

According to Ian Cousins, PFAS are now so ubiquitous and so persistent that he doesn't expect them to ever disappear from the earth again. Hence the term “forever chemicals”. We now know very well about the dangers of this group of substances, which is why the limit values ​​have been further reduced in recent years. Unfortunately, they are still used in many everyday products and their packaging.

further ban on individual PFAS is now being discussed in the EU Another positive development is the PFAS levels that are detected in human bodies: According to Cousins, these have decreased significantly in the last 20 years. Anyway.

Author: Walter Feichtinger

Sources:
Stockholm University study “Outside the Safe Operating Space of a New Planetary Boundary for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)” , 2022
study “Sea Spray Aerosol (SSA) as a Source of Perfluoroalkyl Acids (PFAAs) to the Atmosphere: Field Evidence from Long-Term Air Monitoring", 2021
Umweltbundesamt - PFAS , Umweltbundesamt - PFOS , ECHA - Perfluoroalkylchemicals (PFAS) , ECHA - Five European states call for evidence on broad PFAS restriction , EPA , AGES , ECHA - Scientific committees support further restrictions of PFAS

This might also be of interest: Climate: There is also good news?

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