Question 12677 — water and sanitation

Summary

Mr. Michel Sala draws the attention of the Minister of Health and Prevention to the recent statement by Mr. Jaffre, director of the Occitanie regional health agency (ARS) concerning the potability of water in Occitanie, in particular due to its high concentration of PFAS. For many years, associations have been warning about the concentration of PFAS in French surface water. In 2022, the consortium of journalists and scientists Forever Pollution Project published a survey which lists the main places of contamination across Europe. More than 17,000 sites exceed the regulatory threshold of 10 ng/L and 2,100 are Hot Spots, exceeding the health threshold of 100 ng/L. In Aveyron, in Sainte-Eulalie-de-Cernon, a concentration of 810 ng/L was measured at the water source. This is 8 times more than the health threshold. And yet, the PFAS although understudied are very toxic. Endocrine disruptors, these perfluorochemicals are the cause of thyroid and kidney cancers, they have an impact on birth rates and cause numerous cardiovascular diseases. Their impact has been known since 2001 with the Stockholm Convention which aimed to reduce the use of the most dangerous PFAS such as PFOS. These PFAS used in the chemical industry for waterproofing use are also massively present in fire-fighting foam (AFFF) used in airports or by the State. In January 2023, a ministerial action plan to combat PFAS was presented. But no emergency measures on this contamination have been announced. The responsibility delegated to the ARS to “complete the health control that they implement” has nevertheless borne fruit. Mr. Jaffre, director of ARS Occitanie, by extending the scope of measurements, confirmed by internal letter what the associations have been denouncing for years: “there are PFAS and metabolites everywhere. The more we look, the more we will find.” “No longer doing” checks cannot be the ideal solution. And above all “stop drinking tap water”. Therefore, Mr. Minister, there is a necessary double approach: engaging the precautionary principle by using the power of the State in the greatest possible reduction of risks, particularly on drinking water wrongly classified as potable, but also to make data effective and transparent at the national level at the finest possible scale. In its April 2023 report, the General Inspectorate of the Environment and Sustainable Development recommends working to initiate a ban on the use and production of PFAS, for more transparency, for centralized databases as well as a national inventory of PFAS concentrations in the environment. Above all, she calls for a formalized roadmap on PFAS with national management. Considering these recommendations, considering the alarming communication from ARS Occitanie, considering the postponement of the revision of “REACH” for at best 2025, the MP asks the Minister what he intends to implement. works immediately to reduce the concentrations of PFAS in French waters. What alternatives to tap water is the State committed to putting in place to guarantee a non-toxic supply to the populations of Occitanie? The health of fellow citizens is at stake and the worrying opacity shown by public authorities regarding PFAS contamination is not reassuring for the population. He wants to know his position on the matter.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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