Not far from Padua, in the Veneto, in the Fossa Monselesana channel, there is one of the highest levels in Italy of contamination from Pfos (perfluorottannsulfonico acid) in wild fish (69.1 micrograms per kilo, almost 900 times beyond the new safety limit proposed by the EU). From there, not far away, the watercourse in Campagna Lupia, in the south lagoon of Venice, represents another area with high contamination. And so, with similar values, in the rest of Europe.
This is what emerges from the dossier “Chemicals that poison the waters and fish of Europe: the tip of the Pfas iceberg”of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), which launches the alarm: European wild fish contain quantities of these substances up to 10 thousand times higher than the safety limits proposed by the European Union.
The report collects monitoring data conducted between 2009 and 2023 in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and Sweden. Almost all the fish samples analyzed have worrying levels of Pfos, a compound of the PFAS family classified as persistent and potentially carcinogenic.
But the problem is much wider: the official European monitoring takes into consideration only this substance, when in reality the PFAS of interest are at least 24. It is therefore not surprising that, to date, less than 30% of the EU’s surface waters is classified in “good chemical state”, according to criteria, however based on an obsolete list of 2013.
Doses beyond each security threshold
The data collected show an impressive contamination:
Some samples from Sweden, Germany and Spain have reached concentrations over 10,000 times the limits proposed
Pfos alarm in Italian streams
In the Monselesana pit, in the burana between Ferrara and the Delta del Po, or even in the Secchia, in the Mantuan, the fish swim in waters that seem clean but which are actually imbued with invisible contaminants: the Pfas, the so -called “eternal chemicals”.
Also for Italy, the new EEB report launches an unequivocal alarm: all Italian fish samples analyzed exceed the new safety limit set at 77 NG/Kg. And this data concerns only the PFOS (perfluoroottanns acid), one of the approximately 10,000 molecules belonging to the PFAS family.
Pfos: a persistent and underestimated contaminant
Pfos is one of the most studied compounds of the Pfas family. It was used for decades in fire foam, non -stick coatings, waterproof tissues, food packaging and a myriad of other products. Its main feature is persistence: once introduced into the environment, it does not degrade and accumulates in soils, water and living organisms.
According to the European Agency for chemicals (Echa), Pfos is toxic to aquatic fauna, bio -accurate and classified as potentially carcinogenic for humans. It has been prohibited in Europe since 2008, but its long chemical life has its effects are still evident and devastating.
Unfortunately, our country is at the center of the Pfas crisis: just remember the case of Veneto, where hundreds of thousands of people have been exposed to contamination by Pfas in the aquifers, with health consequences still in progress today. The alarm launched by the EEB for the Po and its tributaries is therefore not a lightning bolt, but the umpteenth confirmation of an environmental and health disaster underestimated for years.
A problem of rules and delays
The European regulatory framework is late compared to reality. Currently, Member States are obliged to monitor only the PFOS, while thousands of other PFAS substances remain outside the radar. A proposal by the European Commission aims to update the list of priority pollutants and to set more severe standards, but governments are already pushing to postpone the entry into force of the new rules even to 2039.
This means that we could lose more than a precious decade in the fight against pollution that in the meantime continues to spread.
The EEB report puts us in front of uncomfortable evidence: our rivers are already compromised and, without a decisive action, we will continue to pay in terms of biodiversity and health.
The fish of the Po, of the Secchia and the Burana are the alarm bells of a contamination that concerns us all, much more close than we want to believe.
To date, European states are obliged to monitor only PFOS, leaving dozens of other harmful substances outside. A proposal by the EU Commission plans to expand monitoring and include other PFAS, but the legislative path proceeds slowly. Some governments even aim to postpone the full application of the new rules until 2039: a delay that risks costing more than a decade of precious time in the fight against toxic pollution.
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