Experts Call for Corrections on PFAS Health Effects and Policy Response: Latest Updates from Ministry of the Environment

2023-06-15 08:59:15

On the 15th, the Ministry of the Environment held the third meeting of the “PFAS Comprehensive Strategy Examination Expert Meeting” and presented a draft Q&A collection to the public to answer questions about PFAS. Experts pointed out that the PFAS explanation that “no health damage has been confirmed” was “a false message,” and there were many calls for corrections. As for the future response policy, there was an opinion that a large-scale health survey should be conducted.

The draft Q&A collection was created in the form of answers to possible questions such as “Is it safe to drink water?” Regarding the health effects, he explained, “There is no definitive information about the amount of PFAS that enters the body to cause effects. There have been no confirmed cases of health damage caused by the intake of PFAS.”

Mami Oku, professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University who specializes in environmental law, said, “With insufficient scientific knowledge, we are being asked what we should do to prevent health damage. Rather than emphasizing it, it’s important to clearly show our stance going forward.”

Regarding the Ministry of the Environment’s future policy of “strengthening monitoring surveys,” Koji Harada, an associate professor of environmental health at Kyoto University, said, “We need a budget to promote epidemiological research.”

The Ministry of the Environment will present a revised Q&A collection reflecting the points pointed out this time and future response policies at the fourth meeting to be held around summer. (Kyota Matsushima)



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