A large concentration poses a threat to the health of the inhabitants of Europe and the whole planet toxic organic compoundsknown as PFASwhich have been widely used since the 1960s in the production of sealants, non-stick devices, electrical tapes and even fast food packaging.

These substances have made their way into the food chain and into drinking water, and they are distinguished by their persistence, earning the designation “timeless chemicals”. These compounds are also able to travel hundreds of kilometers from their place of production and infect the population even after being buried in landfills.

An investigation by 17 European journalistic organizations found these substances in more than 17,000 locations in Europe, with 2,100 locations designated as “hot spots” with PFAS hazardous to human health.

In Greece, studies have found a large concentration of such compounds in Asopos, Psittalia, Boeotia and in the dumps at Kilkis, Seres, Kozani, Orestiada, Mytilini, Chios and Heraklion.

In Greece, they are mostly found in landfills. Substances are particularly persistent as long as they have made their way into the food chain and drinking water.

Research by an intergovernmental working group of the Nordic countries has shown that even a small dose of PFAS has serious health consequences. PFAS cause problems in newborns, male and female fertility, reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, increase the risk of breast, kidney, thyroid and testicular cancer, cause colitis, increase cholesterol and blood pressure, and cause preeclampsia. The research team concluded that PFAS costs Europe’s healthcare systems between 52 and 84 billion euros per year.

The highest concentrations of PFAS on the European continent are found in the Veneto region in northern Italy. There, Miteni has been synthesizing a number of PFASs for fifty years. The water pollution in the region, discovered only in 2013, covers 200 square kilometers, affecting 350,000 inhabitants of the Veneto region.

In Germany, a facility in Gendorf, Bavaria, manufactures waterproofing materials on behalf of the giants 3M and WL Gore, creators of Gore-Tex. Despite the PFAS ban in 2019, the chemical industry has replaced the substance with an equivalent one that is equally harmful to health, obtaining a new license for its production and use. Since PFAS substances do not decompose naturally, remediation of contaminated areas will be costly. For example, controlling water pollution around Düsseldorf Airport in Germany would cost €100 million, while the hypothetical cost of decontaminating PFAS for all European airports, the main users of these chemicals, would be €18 billion. In the Rastatt region of Germany, tons of compost laced with PFAS have polluted 10,000 acres of farmland. The fertilizer came from a paper mill that used PFAS-contaminated water to make paper. The area has been on ecological alert since 2013 as polluted waters slowly seep into the Rhine. A study by Stockholm University found that PFAS substances have been found in rain in all parts of the world, even in geographic areas where there are no plastics factories.