2023-06-28 14:37:47
MPs’ hair analyzed to show our exposure to pollutants. If the approach is atypical (but not new*), the results are less so. Fourteen Green MPs agreed to donate a lock of their hair to be analyzed to see if it contained PFAS. Also called eternal pollutants because of their persistence, these extremely harmful chemical substances are present in the environment, but also in many everyday objects (food packaging, non-stick pans, textiles, etc.) and industrial products, such as fire-fighting foam. . In all, there are 12,000 PFAS. Nicolas Thierry, the deputy (EELV) of Gironde at the initiative of this analysis, decided to detect the presence of twelve of them in the hair of his colleagues.
The results are final. Among these twelve, eight eternal pollutants were detected, including four at levels high enough to be quantified precisely by the analysis method. The presence of PFOA, a PFAS banned since 2020 due to its toxicity, was detected in the 14 elected officials. Nicolas Thierry tells 20 Minutes the genesis of this project and analyzed its results.
Why did you decide to perform an analysis specifically on PFAS?
They are at the origin of a huge health scandal in the United States. Whereas in Europe, and particularly in France, the subject is completely obscured. The discrepancy is very striking. Unlike other substances to which we are exposed, such as glyphosate, PFAS take an extremely long time to be eliminated from our bodies. They also have a phenomenal ability to move, via waterways or air, and are nearly indestructible in the environment. A study even shows the presence of PFAS in the blood of a polar bear in Canada.
Numerous international studies have shown the pathological risks associated with these chemical substances. They cause an increased risk of cancer, impaired fertility, increased cholesterol levels or even disruption of the thyroid and liver. The link is very clearly established.
Why did you choose to carry out this analysis on your fellow MPs?
It all started during a debate in committee. I proposed an amendment to a bill from the Liot group aimed at testing the presence of PFAS in drinking water in France. MEPs overwhelmingly voted against. They gave me the same arguments as the manufacturers: “we must analyze each substance one by one”. I drew a conclusion: politically, it is blocked. The only way is therefore to create emotion so that there is pressure from the citizens which will force Parliament to move.
You found PFOA in the hair of the 14 participating MPs. Did this result, and more generally those of this study, surprise you?
No. No one escapes PFOA, but at more or less significant levels. Deputies have ten times my dose. Marie-Charlotte Garin, for example, who is a Member of Parliament for Lyon and who lives in what is called “the chemical valley”, an area where Tefal and Arkema are located, has a level of almost 3pg/mg of PFOA, while the average of the other elected officials is 0.2. Charles Fournier, deputy in Tours, is also at 3. He did not expect at all to be impacted at such a level. On an individual basis, it is quite anxiety-provoking. Now, all these deputies are going to want to find an outlet. Because if they are affected, there are millions of us to be.
What surprised the scientists was the high presence of PFNA (85.7%), a very little identified PFAS. Scientists have called it “the new kid on the block”. We are almost certain that it has been used by manufacturers to circumvent regulations since PFOA was banned. This is the reason why manufacturers do not especially want us to attack the family of PFAS as a whole, but to carry out analyzes substance by substance. The problem is that it takes ten years to have a single one banned. In the following months, they modify it slightly and put it on the market. And we left for ten years.
What are you waiting for now that these results are published?
There is no fatality. We can make political decisions now to reduce our exposure to these pollutants. A month ago, I tabled a bill aimed at prohibiting from January 1, 2025 the manufacture, export, import and marketing of PFAS for food packaging, textile products and foams. fireproof. From 2025 because for these products, there are known alternatives. And in 2027, I want a global ban on all PFAS. Several European countries such as Denmark have the same proposal. This will give manufacturers time to turn around. Of course, there are exceptions when there is no alternative, for medical equipment and clothing to protect security professionals.
The second axis of my bill is to control the presence of PFAS in drinking water throughout the territory, to protect the most exposed people as quickly as possible. It is urgent to act. But each month lost is counted in human life.
And where is this bill?
It will be examined between September 2023 and June 2024. The challenge is that it be put on the agenda of the Assembly and above all, that it be voted on. But I do not hide from you that without awareness of society, it will be extremely difficult.
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