PFAS are increasingly at the center of public and scientific debate. These perfluoroalkyl substances, defined as “forever chemicals“due to their persistence in the environment and in living organisms, they represent one of the most worrying environmental and health emergencies of our time. Veneto knows this problem well, the region was in fact the scene of one of the most serious cases of PFAS contamination in Europe, caused by the activities of Miteni of Trissino.
For years, the waters of three Venetian provinces have been contaminated, with consequences for the health of hundreds of thousands of people. It is therefore not surprising that a strong and determined voice has been rising from Veneto for some time. Associations such as Mamme No PFAS, born from the need to protect their children and future generations, have repeatedly called for a total ban on these toxic substances, rejecting downward compromises and limits that they consider insufficient to truly protect the health of citizens.
129 municipalities say enough PFAS
While in Brussels the European Commission suggests to Parliament not to place limits on the production and use of PFAS so as not to compromise “Europe’s global competitiveness” – particularly in the sectors of weapons production, aerospace and semiconductors – ignoring the serious effects on the health of exposed citizens, it is the citizens themselves who are reacting. In particular those who have experienced the consequences of pollution first-hand.
In the Veneto region devastated by the Miteni disaster, dozens of associations, committees and activist groups – including Mamme No PFAS, Legambiente, ISDE (Association of Doctors for the Environment) and Italia Nostra – have come together in the Rete Zero PFAS Veneto coordination to overturn the paradigm: people’s health and environmental protection must come before economic interests.
The strategy of the Zero PFAS Network is to involve the administrative level closest to citizens, the municipalities, to give political weight to the request for a national law that bans PFAS by prohibiting their production, marketing and use.
The campaign started in February 2024 and a motion was sent to the protocols of all the municipalities in the region. Membership has grown month after month, up to the 129 Venetian municipalities that have today approved the document. Added to these are the regional councils of Veneto, Piedmont and Umbria, the provincial councils of Verona and Vicenza, and some municipalities in Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria.
The most impressive data comes from the province of Verona where 95 out of 98 municipalities approved the motion, an almost total coverage of the territory. An extraordinary result made possible by the widespread commitment of a small cultural association, Il Mondo di Irene, and the No PFAS Mothers.
The activists personally contacted the mayors and administrators of every single municipality, always finding availability and acceptance on the topic. Door-to-door work that has created a solid network and widespread sensitivity among local administrators. It is no coincidence that the representatives of the associations participated in the sessions of the municipal councils on the occasion of the approval of the motion, transforming each vote into a moment of discussion and sharing.
The urgency of this battle arises from an environmental disaster that we all know by now. The production of Miteni di Trissino has contaminated the aquifers of three Venetian provinces, affecting approximately 350 thousand users of the aqueducts. An impressive number of people have drunk, cooked and lived with water contaminated by substances that accumulate in the body and are associated with serious pathologies, from tumors to thyroid dysfunction, from immune system problems to pregnancy complications.
From the province of Verona to the whole of Italy
Now the work continues to increase coverage in the other Veneto provinces and to extend the campaign nationally. The Verona experience has shown that direct contact with administrators works and creates lasting bonds.
The network with mayors and councilors now becomes a tool for raising awareness on the issue of PFAS pollution. In the coming weeks, in collaboration with the Province of Verona, an information event will be organized aimed at mayors, administrators and citizens to continue to inform and mobilize the territory.
The final objective is to bring the motion to at least one municipality for each Italian region, creating a national network that gives a strong and unified signal. Because PFAS know no regional boundaries and pose a threat to the health of all of us and future generations.
What Europe thinks
While in Veneto and other Italian regions citizens and associations are pushing for a total ban on PFAS to protect public health, at a European level the debate takes on a different perspective, centered on industrial competitiveness. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known asforever chemicals” due to their extreme persistence, they are used in strategic sectors such as aerospace, defense, semiconductors and green technologies.
A recent study, commissioned by the European Parliament to the Political Department for Transformation, Innovation and Health, analyzes the role of PFAS in European industry and evaluates the consequences of a total or partial restriction. The results show that substituting these materials is often difficult to implement, potentially resulting in enormous economic losses, employment risks and a compromise to Europe’s global competitiveness.
The study therefore proposes permanent or long-term exemptions for critical sectors, extensions of transition periods for green technologies and the exclusion of F-gases from the restriction, accompanied by innovation funds and further research to develop safe alternatives.
Sources: Zero Pfas Italy / European Parliament
