Something is changing in the way Italy deals with the problem of PFAS. After years of alarms raised by scientists and environmental associations, and after the sensational cases that have affected some areas of Northern Italy (see Veneto, which has become sadly famous internationally), more and more regions seem to have understood that it is no longer possible to ignore the problem.
The latest news on the matter comes from Tuscany which has decided to take an important step: the regional council has approved a resolution that kicks off a vast fact-finding investigation to understand where, and in what quantities, these infamous “eternal pollutants” are hidden in the regional territory.
For those who don’t know them yet, PFAS, an acronym for poly- and per-fluoroalkyl substances, are a family of over 10,000 synthetic chemical compounds that share a characteristic that makes them both very useful and very dangerous: they are practically indestructible. The bond between carbon and fluorine that constitutes them is among the most stable that exist in chemistry, which makes them resistant to high temperatures, extreme pressures, greases and liquids of all kinds. Precisely for this reason they end up in many everyday objects: non-stick pans, food packaging, waterproof fabrics, cosmetics, pesticides, medicines.
The problem is that this same stability turns them into a major environmental problem. They do not degrade, they accumulate in soils, waters and living organisms (including humans). Scientific studies associate them with a worrying series of health effects: from compromising the immune system to altering the endocrine system, passing through metabolic problems, chronic inflammation, infertility and an increased risk of tumors, particularly testicular and kidney tumors.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has set very low tolerable weekly exposure thresholds, but the point is that, not knowing where they are, it is difficult to even monitor how much exposure we actually suffer.
The Tuscan plan
The resolution approved by the Regional Council provides for a systematic investigation into water discharges, emissions into the atmosphere and waste produced by industrial activities in the area. The objective is not yet to clean up, that will come later, but first of all to know, to build a detailed map of the sources of contamination, without which any contrast policy risks not being effective.
As the regional councilor for the environment, David Barontini, says, the regional directorate for environmental protection and energy will coordinate the work, supported by the technical support of ARPAT, the regional agency for environmental protection, which will take care of sampling, laboratory analysis and definition of operational protocols. And to ensure increasingly precise controls, the Region will also invest in strengthening ARPAT’s analytical equipment.
In a first phase, the focus will be on companies subject to Integrated Environmental Authorization, with particular attention to sectors historically linked to the use of PFAS: water purification, waste management, leather tanning, paper and textile industries. The monitoring will also be extended to the managers of the integrated water service, in line with the most recent European indications, which aim to intercept contamination already at the entrance into the sewer networks.
The choice of Tuscany is not isolated, but is part of an increasingly broader trend. The pressure from the European Union, which is progressively restricting the permissible limits for these substances in drinking water and food, is also pushing local institutions to take action. And civil society, citizens’ committees, researchers, investigative journalists, continues to do its part, keeping attention high on a topic that has remained in the shadows for too long.
