2023-10-26 15:50:00
After reports from the south-east of France and the west of Lyon, Ardèche waters also turn out to be contaminated by PFAS, aka “eternal pollutants”. Carcinogenic and dangerous for the immune system, they are used in the chemical industry and for many manufactured products. The public authorities are turning a deaf ear.
In a article published on October 25, France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes speaks of a “pollution that goes unnoticed”. Since the Pierre-Bénite scandal in 2022, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) has carried out analyzes and revealed levels of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds) above the European standard (100 ng/L).
The problem is that this standard from the European Water Framework Directive (2020) is indicative. At the national level, the effective application of this regulation is not planned before 2026. Until then, the public authorities do not seem to be in a hurry to take action. There are several dodging techniques: some have never heard of PFAS, others say they drink tap water themselves without worrying, others assure that the analyzes are good…
Then, there are those who play more or less fair play: “For the moment, we have not worried about the problem, because the ARS does not require us to do research… If we had to find some, we wonder how we would go about supplying people with water… We avoid going into this subject which seems very delicate to me”, admits Pascal Balay, president of the Cance-Doux water union and mayor of Sécheras, interviewed by France 3. And to return the hot potato: “I’m not saying that it’s not dangerous, but we should also study the water in plastic bottles, we don’t know if it is better.”
This is obviously a possible way out: bottled water.
According to an article in Le Canard Enchaîné, to which France 3 had access, the general director of ARS Occitanie communicated with his regional counterparts: “Very clearly, we are going to have to change our approach and our discourse, there is PFAS and metabolites everywhere. And the more we look for them, the more we will find.” Then, he concluded by assuring that tap water “should no longer be consumed, but only used for everything else”.
#RhôneAlpes #Eternal #pollutants #public #authorities