They are everywhere, invisible and practically indestructible. Let’s talk once again about PFAS, perfluoroalkyl substances found in non-stick pans, food packaging, waterproof fabrics, cosmetics and many other commonly used objects. More than 10,000 synthetic chemical compounds that industry has used and consequently disseminated across the planet for decades, taking advantage of their exceptional resistance.
The problem is that the same stability that makes them so useful turns them into a permanent threat, in fact they do not degrade in the environment and this is what they are called “forever chemicals“, eternal pollutants.
However, a clear signal has been coming from civil society for some time: environmentalist associations, water managers and consumer representatives are no longer waiting for politics to move first and are calling for an Italy without PFAS.
On 9 March 2026, in the setting of the Senate of the Republic, three very different entities chose to join forces by signing the Manifesto “Towards the elimination of PFAS”: Utilitalia (the federation of water, environment and energy companies), Legambiente and Consumers’ Forum. An alliance that puts at the same table those who manage the water we drink, those who defend polluted territories and those who represent end consumers. The declared objective is to transform urgency into concrete action, overcoming the logic of bouncing back responsibilities.
Six commitments to move on
The Manifesto does not limit itself to stating generic principles but translates the intentions into six operational guidelines. The first and most radical is the progressive elimination of PFAS where valid alternatives already exist, accompanied by a stable regulatory framework that guides the industry towards safe materials.
The second is the firm application of the “polluter pays” principle because the costs of reclamation and treatment cannot continue to burden citizens’ bills.
This is followed by the search for safe alternatives, evaluated not only in terms of risk but also real performance, and the development of technologies to reduce PFAS already present in water and waste management systems.
The fifth commitment concerns economic support for the industrial transition, with dedicated financial instruments. Finally, the Manifesto aims for an ambitious harmonization of European standards, within the framework of the REACH regulation, based on the precautionary principle.
Water has no substitutes
Barbara Marinali, deputy vice-president of Utilitalia, underlined an aspect often overlooked in the public debate: unlike fossil fuels, water has no alternatives. When an aquifer becomes contaminated, the impact is systemic and difficult to reverse. For this reason, water managers ask to move the point of intervention as far upstream as possible in the supply chain, before the waste reaches the environmental cycle. Downstream treatments exist and are being strengthened, but they are not enough on their own.
For Legambiente, which for years has supported the communities most affected by the PFAS problem – in particular in Veneto, Piedmont, Lombardy and Sardinia – the signature represents a move to a higher level of action. As the national president Stefano Ciafani explains, the Manifesto is:
a new and important starting point: the start of a collaboration that strengthens and renews the association’s commitment to combating the PFAS plague, in full continuity with the disputes that we have been pursuing for years in the most affected territories.
The goal is to transform local experience into structural change, with a clear responsibility:
those who pollute pay, because the costs of pollution cannot fall on citizens but on those who caused the damage.
Inform to protect
Consumers’ Forum brings specific attention to the daily dimension in the Manifesto: labels, safety data sheets, public databases on dangerous substances. For President Furio Truzzi, making citizens able to orient themselves independently is an integral part of the solution. The forum is committed to broadening membership of the document, involving not only consumer associations but also companies in the production sectors directly involved.
This Manifesto comes at a time when the European debate on PFAS is intensifying. France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway have already started concrete restriction paths. With this act, Italy is trying to position itself among the countries that react in time, before the problem worsens further. The next step, as the signatories recalled, is to expand the coalition to industrial producers and users, to build a chain of commitments that goes well beyond the document signed in the Senate.
