From the people who live near chemical plants to Europe's top officials, no one escapes forever chemicals. Eleven politicians agreed to undergo a biological analysis, donating a few drops of their blood to NGOs European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and Chemsec. All of them, without exception, showed Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS, a subgroup of persistent organic pollutants) in their blood, according to results made public on Wednesday January 31.

Frans Timmermans, the former Commission vice-president responsible for the European Green Deal, was among the officials who submitted to the tests. Out of 13 distinct PFAS tested for, seven were found in his body, which was also the case for the other volunteers. In response to this analysis campaign, the Dutch official called for "an end to emissions of these legalized pollutants" and encouraged Europe to ban their use altogether. "Our citizens must be protected," he said. A proposed Europe-wide ban on the ultra-toxic chemicals, known as the "universal ban" is due to come into effect in 2026.

Introduced into the environment by the factories that produce them and used in a myriad of applications from non-stick coatings to waterproofing and electric vehicle batteries, PFAS do not degrade in nature but remain permanently.

Exposure to the substances has been linked to cancer, cardiovascular and thyroid disorders, infertility and immune system disorders. One of them, PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), has just been recognized as a human carcinogen by the United Nations International Agency for Research on Cancer, on the basis of a sufficient level of evidence for kidney and testicular cancers.

Banned in the European Union in 2020 and 2009 respectively, PFOA and PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) were systematically detected in the blood of the 11 officials tested as part of this campaign.

"It will probably be some time before PFAS are fully replaced, but this is the right way to proceed," said Margrethe Vestager, the Commission vice-president responsible for competition. She agreed to be tested to help "raise public awareness." In addition to Timmermans and Vestager, a third vice-president, Dubravka Suica (responsible for democracy and demography), Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius, the head of the European Environment Agency, and six MEPs were also tested.

For Tatiana Santos, chemical products policy officer at EBB, "PFAS contamination does not discriminate. We are all victims. No one is safe from chemical pollution, regardless of their location or lifestyle." In France, the Esteban study found PFAS in the blood of the entire population. The European biosurveillance study HBM4EU shows that one in seven teenagers exceeds the tolerable weekly intake established by the European Food Safety Authority, i.e. 6.9 micrograms per liter (µg/l) of serum.

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