The two brand new tanks, one black, the other blue, sparkle in the sun on the side of the road in front of the snow-capped peaks of the Alps. These immense activated carbon filters came into service in December to secure the drinking water of Rumilly, in Haute-Savoie. “Like in a sponge, the molecules are trapped in the filter which must be changed when it is full,” explains Serge Deplante, in charge of water and sanitation for the town and its neighbors.
For what ? Because an “eternal pollutant”, banned since 2020 because it is carcinogenic, was found in the water table which supplies some of the city’s taps. Precisely PFOA, and not just a little: up to 117 mg/l, almost 60% more than the dangerous threshold for ingestion set by the National Health Agency (ANSES), and 60 times more than the health limit set in Denmark.
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