Time to ban all sources of TFA pollution starting with PFAS pesticides
A new study has detected the ultra-short PFAS trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in all 110 European participants’ blood samples tested. With a median concentration of 21.22 ng/mL, the study reports among the highest TFA levels yet measured in humans. [1]. PAN Europe is calling for an immediate ban on PFAS pesticides that contribute to TFA pollution, alongside a swift adoption of the PFAS restriction to act on other TFA sources.
TFA is a short-chain PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and a breakdown product of PFAS containing -CF3, including PFAS pesticides. It is highly persistent, mobile and toxic and has been classified as toxic to reproduction; certain levels are shown to impact early-life development, thyroid function, the immune system and to a lesser extent, fertility. Yet every blood sample examined was contaminated with TFA. Unlike longer-chain PFAS, TFA does not tend to accumulate in the same way in human tissues, but because of its high mobility and continuous release into the environment, people can be exposed repeatedly through water, food and other environmental sources.
Widespread exposure to TFA via food and water
PFAS pesticides are an important source of TFA in our water and food, as TFA is released directly into soil, food crops and groundwater. Currently, there are about 30 PFAS pesticide substances on the market and hundreds of pesticide products that contain them; almost all can break down to TFA. Under the current EU law on pesticides, these substances could and should be banned immediately.
The evidence of widespread and growing exposure is mounting. Just two weeks ago, another study based on Austrian groundwater samples showed that levels of TFA have increased significantly in the past four years and will continue to increase. [2] The concentrations were associated with agricultural indicators such as nitrate levels and pesticide use but not with other PFAS, suggesting different input origins.
PAN Europe and its members have been sounding the alarms since 2023, when the EU presented a proposal for a global restriction on PFAS but excluded PFAS pesticides, on the assumption that they were adequately regulated under EU pesticide legislation and are being phased out. That assumption is untrue. The levels of PFAS pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables tripled between 2011 and 2021, proving that PFAS pesticides are not being phased out [3].
PAN Europe’s network has detected TFA in rivers, tap water, bottled mineral water, wine and cereal-based food [4]. In fact, concentrations of TFA in food are 100 times higher than in water, making it a significant source of exposure for the general public.
TFA in the blood of European citizens
The study, commissioned by the Greens in the European Parliament, focused on both long-chain and short-chain PFAS in the blood of 110 Europeans [1]. It is one of the very few studies to measure TFA levels in serum samples, and the results are anything but reassuring. Every person of the 110 participants tested had trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in their blood, at levels 4 to 5 times higher than those of all other long-chain PFAS, with a median concentration of 21.22 ng/mL. In relation to other PFAS, serum levels of TFA were “weakly correlated with PFOA” and showed “little or no correlation with the other long-chain PFAS”, again indicating distinct sources.
What did previous studies find?
Until now, direct measurements of TFA in human blood were limited. One study conducted in China measured TFA in serum from 252 adults, detecting it in 97% of samples, with a median concentration of 8.5 ng/mL [5]. Another study, conducted in the US, measured TFA in serum from 81 adults and detected it in 74% of the samples, with a median concentration of 6 ng/L [6]. A separate study of samples from 119 adults in North Carolina reported a median TFA concentration of 17 ng/mL [7].
More recently, researchers analysed serum from the Norwegian EuroMix cohort. TFA was the most abundant individual PFAS detected in the study. Among participants who were not taking the fluorinated pharmaceutical fluoxetine, the median TFA concentration was 6.22 ng/mL. Among fluoxetine users, the median was considerably higher, at 27.7 ng/mL, highlighting that fluorinated pharmaceuticals, like Prozac, can also contribute to TFA exposure [8].
Comparing with the health-based limit values for TFA
There are currently no health-based reference values for TFA in human blood, but these results point to widespread exposure across the population. Given how widely TFA is found in our food and water, this is actually hardly surprising. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently set a health-based Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for TFA of 0.014 mg/kg body weight, based on thyroid toxicity. According to a rough estimation presented in the report, this would result in a median concentration of 24 ng/mL, which is very close to the measured median concentration of the 110 participants, which was 21.22 ng/mL (range 4.67–58.35 ng/mL).
This value does not account for the fact that we are exposed to many PFAS at once, whose toxic effects may be additive.
Call for an immediate ban on PFAS pesticides
As TFA is extremely persistent, it does not break down in the environment, and levels will only keep rising. Every moment of inaction adds to the burden on the health of future generations.
The EU has a legal obligation to ban PFAS pesticides, because they fail to meet the requirements of EU pesticide law for remaining on the market. For many of them, it is already known that they contaminate groundwater with TFA well beyond the legal threshold of 0.01 μg/L. Where no data exist, it is because the tests supplied by industry were either not designed to detect TFA or contained major errors that produced false results.
Therefore, in line with EU law, all European policymakers must apply the precautionary principle and ban every PFAS pesticide that may contaminate water resources with TFA, at both EU and national level. This is essential to protect our environment and the health of our children and future generations.
The science is clear, and the exposure is universal. Policymakers must ban PFAS pesticides now.
“This widespread contamination with TFA must sound the alarm. TFA is highly persistent, mobile and toxic, and we know if continuous exposure reaches certain levels, it can affect human development, including during the earliest stages of life in the womb. Yet as we continue to release TFA into the environment, contamination levels continue to rise. It is incomprehensible that EU governments and the European Commission are still failing to urgently act to stop the use of PFAS pesticides that release TFA," states Angeliki Lysimachou, Head of Science and Policy at PAN Europe.
Notes:
[1] PFAS levels in Europeans | Greens/EFA
[2] EU-wide call to ban PFAS pesticides after rise of TFA in Austrian groundwater | PAN Europe
[3] Toxic Harvest: Ban PFAS pesticides | PAN Europe
