"Eternal pollutants": more than 160,000 inhabitants receive contaminated water in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Europe 1 with AFP 12:40 p.m., January 15, 2024

The drinking water of 166,000 inhabitants of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region contains PFAS, the "eternal pollutants", at levels above the European reference threshold, according to the results of analyses published on Monday by the Regional Health Agency (ARS). The consumption of this water is not prohibited, but the ARS has, for the first time, asked for corrective measures from the fifty or so municipalities concerned, most of which are located in the Chemical Valley south of Lyon.

To avoid being put on notice, these local authorities had to present as soon as possible "the measures of their choice to return below the threshold" of 100 nanograms per litre, and will have three years to put them in place, Aymeric Bogey, the agency's director of public health, explained to the press. The "quality limit, even if it is exceeded, does not mean that there is an immediate risk for the population", Aymeric Bogey was keen to stress: "in the current state of knowledge, we do not know from what level of PFAS there is a proven risk", but "we cannot wait" to act.

Only two potential solutions

The agency has targeted water resources that are "potentially at risk" and identified eight situations clearly above the quality limit, including two on private wells, said Christel Lamat, regional water manager. Two have since returned below after taking action. The town of Rumilly, in Haute-Savoie, where a Tefal factory is located, was forced to give up two contaminated catchments in 2022, after the discovery in its groundwater of PFOA, a substance banned since 2020 due to its carcinogenic nature.

The one in Valencia commissioned a PFAS treatment plant in November. According to Aymeric Bogey, the two main solutions available to local authorities are activated carbon treatment or "connecting to other networks to dilute the resource or deprive themselves of problematic capture".

Compounds that are virtually indestructible and accumulate over time

These poly- and perfluoroalkyl compounds (a family of more than 4,700 molecules) have non-stick and waterproof properties and are massively present in everyday life: Teflon pans, food packaging, waterproof textiles, automobiles, etc. Almost indestructible, they accumulate over time in the air, soil, river waters, food and even the human body, hence their nickname "eternal" pollutants. If exposed over a long period of time, they can have effects on fertility or promote certain cancers, according to initial studies.

After the broadcast of several journalistic investigations in 2022, the regional authorities had launched checks, in particular at the level of the ARS, which published the results of this campaign online on Monday. In recent months, several local authorities and individuals have launched collective complaints for "endangering the lives of others" by expressing concern about "alarming concentrations" of PFAS linked to industrial sites in the Chemical Valley.