2023-12-05 17:43:52
– PFAS found in tap water in Switzerland
Banned for 10 years, these chemicals are still present in our drinking water according to a study by the Association of Cantonal Chemists of Switzerland.
Published today at 6:43 p.m.
When they were banned in Switzerland, an ordinance on drinking water and that present in bathing facilities dictated the maximum tolerated quantity of PFOS and PFOAS.
KEYSTONE/Laurent Gilliéron
Both Switzerland and the European Union have banned the use of PFAS (editor’s note: all per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) for ten years. However, these chemicals are very difficult to biodegrade. The Association of Cantonal Chemists of Switzerland therefore attempted to analyze their presence in our drinking water, noted this Tuesday the “RTS».
The study focuses on “per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which include in particular PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and its salts) and PFOAS (perfluorooctanoic acid and its salts),” specifies the national media. The samples analyzed in thestudy, coming from Switzerland and Liechtenstein, represent 70% of the drinking water supply for the Swiss population. And the results are clear: 46% of samples contain residues of these chemicals.
PFOS, a potentially carcinogenic substance, is the most detected in our water. “Unsurprisingly” for the RTS, which notes that a human biomonitoring study from the OSP published in August 2023 had already demonstrated its presence in the human body.
A pinned French-speaking sample
These chemicals were once highly appreciated by the textile, electronics and, among other things, construction industries. When they were banned in Switzerland, an ordinance on drinking water and water in bathing facilities dictated the maximum tolerated quantity of PFOS and PFOAS.
The “RTS” explains that several samples complied with this regulation, but “five of them exceeded the European maximum value (drinking water directive 2020/2184) of one microgram per liter”. Among the latter, the Association of Cantonal Chemists of Switzerland specifies that one is located in French-speaking Switzerland without naming the exact region.
Read alsoMyrtille Wendling is a journalist in the digital editorial team. After a bachelor’s degree in Sociology at the University of Paris, she obtained her master’s degree at the Academy of Media and Journalism at the University of Neuchâtel. She has worked for La Région, Le Temps, Watson and L’Illustré.More info
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