A campaign has been launched by the Veolia group to measure the content of eternal pollutants at all the drinking water production points it operates in France, it announced on Thursday. To date, two thirds of the drinking water production points managed by Veolia, covering 15 million French people served, have been analyzed.
According to the first results of these analyses, begun in November, the compliance of drinking water with the new PFAS standards is certified for 99% of contracts, indicates Veolia, which must complete its measurement campaign by this summer. According to the water services giant, this initiative “will contribute to accumulating practical knowledge on the management of this pollution in France and to sharing it with the health authorities”.
“Today, the state of science has made it possible to establish standards for these emerging pollutants, and we wanted to take stock of the drinking water that we manage without delay,” commented Estelle Brachlianoff, general director of Veolia. She also emphasizes that the solutions exist or “are within reach” (technologies based on activated carbon or membranes, etc.).
PFAS at the heart of many debates
Massively present in everyday life (Teflon pans, food packaging, textiles, automobiles, etc.), these per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances called PFAS owe their nickname to their very long life cycle and, for some, to their harmful effect on health. .
From 2026, PFAS will be integrated into regulatory programs for the health control of water intended for human consumption, according to a European directive. But the quality thresholds have been integrated into the French regulatory framework from 2023 in the event of anticipated research implemented according to local and detection contexts.
PFAS have recently been the subject of numerous debates before the approval at first reading last week by deputies of an environmentalist bill aimed at restricting the manufacture and sale of products containing these eternal pollutants, excluding however utensils. kitchenware, after strong mobilization from manufacturers.