Oct 8, 2026 01:37 AM
https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2026/10...fas-toxic/
INTRO: A “forever chemical”, which Europe’s chemicals regulator says may damage babies in the womb and is suspected of harming fertility, has been found in rivers and groundwater across England, according to Environment Agency data obtained exclusively by Watershed and Unearthed.
A leading expert in the field said the results found in rivers and groundwater, which could be used for crops and sources of drinking water, were some of the worst results seen around the world. These are the first tests of Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) to be carried out by the Environment Agency (EA), and the first time it has been tested for in England’s groundwater. The substance was found in every surface water sample and almost 90% of the groundwater sampled.
TFA is a type of PFAS – per- and-polyfluoroalkyll substances, a family of manmade chemicals that are mobile, toxic and highly persistent in the environment. TFA is produced when other PFAS – including pesticides, refrigerants and industrial chemicals – degrade.
TFA has been the subject of scrutiny from scientists and regulators in recent years due to concerns about how long it remains in the environment and its potential impact on human and environmental health. Recent studies have raised concerns about “irreversible accumulation” of TFA almost everywhere in the environment.
“The TFA that is on the Earth today will be on the Earth for the next thousand years, and the TFA concentrations we see now are probably the lowest we’ll see in your lifetime,” says Professor Hans Arp, an environmental chemist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and an expert on TFA.
The UK currently does not have limits for TFA, but the EU chemicals agency in June recommended it be classified as toxic to reproduction, and this year the European Food Safety Authority significantly lowered its health-based tolerable daily intake limits. (MORE - details)
INTRO: A “forever chemical”, which Europe’s chemicals regulator says may damage babies in the womb and is suspected of harming fertility, has been found in rivers and groundwater across England, according to Environment Agency data obtained exclusively by Watershed and Unearthed.
A leading expert in the field said the results found in rivers and groundwater, which could be used for crops and sources of drinking water, were some of the worst results seen around the world. These are the first tests of Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) to be carried out by the Environment Agency (EA), and the first time it has been tested for in England’s groundwater. The substance was found in every surface water sample and almost 90% of the groundwater sampled.
TFA is a type of PFAS – per- and-polyfluoroalkyll substances, a family of manmade chemicals that are mobile, toxic and highly persistent in the environment. TFA is produced when other PFAS – including pesticides, refrigerants and industrial chemicals – degrade.
TFA has been the subject of scrutiny from scientists and regulators in recent years due to concerns about how long it remains in the environment and its potential impact on human and environmental health. Recent studies have raised concerns about “irreversible accumulation” of TFA almost everywhere in the environment.
“The TFA that is on the Earth today will be on the Earth for the next thousand years, and the TFA concentrations we see now are probably the lowest we’ll see in your lifetime,” says Professor Hans Arp, an environmental chemist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and an expert on TFA.
The UK currently does not have limits for TFA, but the EU chemicals agency in June recommended it be classified as toxic to reproduction, and this year the European Food Safety Authority significantly lowered its health-based tolerable daily intake limits. (MORE - details)