New alert for tap water: an “eternal pollutant” detected, the Gard concerned, the worrying results of an investigation

Un polluant éternel très compliqué à retirer de l'eau, l'acide trifluoroacétique (TFA), a été retrouvé dans l'eau du robinet d'une large majorité des villes où il a été recherché, selon une enquête (photo d'illustration). towfiqu98 – ENVATO ELEMENTS

A perennial pollutant that is very difficult to remove from water, trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), has been found in the tap water of a large majority of the towns where it was searched for, according to a survey published on Thursday, January 23, 2025. The town of Moussac, near Salindres, in the Gard, is concerned.

Found in the water of 24 out of 30 municipalities, it alone exceeds, in 20 municipalities, the European reference standard of 100 nanograms/liter for the twenty regulated PFAS, which should come into full force in 2026, according to this survey carried out by UFC-Que Choisir and the environmental NGO Générations Futures.

Almost indestructible, these “eternal pollutants”They contain more than 4,700 molecules and accumulate over time in the air, soil, rivers, and even in the human body. In the event of long-term exposure, they can have effects on fertility or promote certain cancers, according to initial studies.

How dangerous ?

Although it is not, as the investigation points out, “as dangerous as PFOA or PFOS”, banned in Europe for several years, there are still gray areas regarding the toxicity of TFA and it is “almost indestructible in the environment”, the study points out.

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Moussac, in the Gard, concerned

Among the 30 municipalities whose water was analyzed, Paris comes in second in terms of concentration, with 6,200 ng/l, behind Moussac, in the Gard (13,000 ng/l). The city of Bruxerolles, in the Vienne, completes this podium, with 2,600 ng/l.

Moussac is located near Salindres, where a Solvay group factory produced TFA until last September, the investigation recalls.

In France, TFA is “very little — if ever — sought by regional health agencies during drinking water inspections,” deplores the study, which highlights that it often comes from the degradation of flufenacet, a herbicide evaluated at the end of September by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

However, the latter concluded, according to Générations Futures, that it is an endocrine disruptor.

Strengthening the standards

“If an active substance [here, flufenacet] is an endocrine disruptor, then its metabolites [including TFA] must be considered by default as relevant“and therefore controlled, estimates Pauline Cervan, toxicologist of Générations Futures, quoted in the investigation.

The problem is that TFA is “less well retained” than other PFAS by water decontamination techniques, both those based on activated carbon and those based on membrane filtration, in vogue in the most modern drinking water plants, declared Julie Mendret, researcher at the University of Montpellier.

“Very small, very mobile”

The difficulty in retaining and therefore removing this chemical product from water is explained by its characteristic of “Short-chain PFAS”, which contains fewer carbon atoms and is therefore “very small, very mobile”, explains this water treatment specialist.

In addition to TFA, Générations Futures and UFC-Que Choisir analyzed 33 PFAS: excluding TFA, the PFAS concentrations “remain in line with the standard chosen by France” (sum of 20 specific PFAS limited to 100 ng/l).

But this standard is “much less strict than those of other countries” as the United States or Denmark, note the two associations, which consider that the French standard “is far too unprotective” and is not based “on any solid toxicological data”. These organizations are calling for the application of the precautionary principle.