A report by the General Inspectorate for the Environment and Sustainable Development (IGEDD) recommends that the government act "
without delay
" in the face of so-called eternal PFAS pollutants, with a view to improving knowledge and monitoring concerning them and to forbid.
“
French regulations on industrial emissions still regulate PFAS discharges too little and their monitoring in the database is almost non-existent
”, underlines in the preamble this report, commissioned in February 2022 by Barbara Pompili, then Minister for Ecological Transition, and published Friday.
The text recommends in particular "
to initiate the most urgent risk control actions without delay
".
The acronym PFAS (pronounced "
pifasse
" in English) designates per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a family of synthetic organofluorine compounds (more than 4700 molecules), developed since the 1940s. Endowed with non-stick and waterproof properties, they are massively present in everyday life: Teflon stoves, food packaging, textiles, automobiles... Almost indestructible, hence their nickname, they are described by some experts as "the greatest chemical threat of the 21st century" but judged
in
part essential for the industry.
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“worrying observation”
"
Knowledge of the health risks associated with the various PFASs is insufficient, or even absent (...) but harmful and toxic effects on human metabolism have been observed for several PFASs and their carcinogenic nature is suspected", emphasizes the IGEDD
.
Faced with this "
worrying observation
", its first recommendation is therefore to "
apply the precautionary principle
" and to ask the French State "
to work for a Reach restriction (reference to the procedure initiated at the beginning of the year by several European countries) leading to a ban on the use, production and import of all PFAS
”.
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The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published on February 7 the proposal of five European countries (Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden) to ban PFAS in the EU, which it will evaluate before submitting a recommendation to Brussels and the Twenty-Seven, for implementation after 2026. This approach was supported by several States including France.bThe IGEDD report also recommends the "substitution of PFAS whenever
possible by less harmful substances
", to better inform the public about the risks and the presence of these pollutants in the various products and to initiate a research program to improve knowledge.
“Guilty inaction”
Currently, “
France does not regulate any PFAS in the control of raw water and water intended for human consumption
” and the “
French regulation of industrial emissions still regulates PFAS discharges too little
”, note the authors of the report, adding that There are similar gaps in controlling PFAS contamination in air and soil.
In December 2022, the government published an "
action plan
" to better "
assess the effects of PFAS and thus limit them more strictly
" while stressing that actions must be taken at European level.
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The environmental deputy Nicolas Thierry, who believes that this plan is a "
diversion
", tabled a bill on Thursday calling for a ban on PFAS from 2025 when there is an alternative, before a total ban in 2027. The report of the IGEDD, blocked according to him and the NGO Robin des bois for months by the government, is "
as worrying as we suspected
", reacted Mr. Thierry to AFP.
“
This is the start of a long fight against a health scandal of unprecedented magnitude.
The problem has been known for 20 years and the inaction of the State and industry is culpable
” while “
alternatives to PFAS already exist
”.
