Govt Bans Tapwater For 60,000 Residents Of Eastern France: PFAS Contamination At 4X Legal Limit
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Saint-Louis is now the site of France’s biggest ever ban on drinking tap water. Its at-risk residents will rely on bottled water until at least the end of the year, when authorities hope water filter systems will be installed. Tests of the local tap water showed levels of Pfas – “forever chemicals” linked to cancer, immune dysfunction and reproductive issues – had reached four times the recommended limit. Shelves were stripped bare as families scrambled to stockpile bottles of water to protect loved ones.
The source was a firefighting foam used at the airport since the 1960s, ending only in 2017, according to the joint statement from the local authority and regional health agency. Toxic residues from the foam lingered, filtering through the soil into drinking water and people’s bodies – probably over decades.
But the situation in Saint-Louis may be only the beginning of drinking water bans across Europe. In January, the EU will start enforcing new limits on Pfa levels. With more than 2,300 sites in Europe exceeding the new safe limits, experts say the ban in France is merely a precursor of more to come. “I think that we are at the start of the story,” says Séverine Maistre, who lives in Saint-Louis and who used to work in clinical drug trials. She believes that if you look for Pfas, you find them. “Currently we are talking about peaks here and there … [But the chemicals] will be everywhere in France. It will be the same in Germany, in Switzerland, in the UK, and everywhere.”
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In North Carolina, alligators are suffering from unhealed and infected lesions, fewer sea turtle hatchlings are emerging in the north Pacific, and in Wisconsin, tree swallows are failing to produce young. Even in remote areas, such as the Arctic, hooded seals and their pups are suffering from thyroid issues. All these animals had experienced high levels of exposure to Pfas, researchers found. More than 600 species on every continent are at risk of harm, according to a map illustrating how damaging chemicals are appearing in ecosystems everywhere. Impacts cascade down an ecosystem – sensitive species could decline, while those that are tolerant do better, which can change the way ecosystems function.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/01/pfas-forever-chemicals-water-contamination-saint-louis-france-aoe