EcoWatch
Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k Subscribe Subscribe
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
      • Top Companies By State
        • California Solar Companies
        • Texas Solar Companies
        • New York Solar Companies
        • Florida Solar Companies
        • See All States
      • Top Incentives By State
        • California Solar Incentives
        • Texas Solar Incentives
        • New York Solar Incentives
        • Florida Solar Incentives
        • See All States
      • Solar Panel Costs By State
        • Solar Panel Costs in California
        • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
        • Solar Panel Costs in New York
        • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
        • See All States
      • Value of Solar by State
        • Is Solar Worth It In California?
        • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
        • Is Solar Worth It New York?
        • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
        • See All States
      • Company Reviews
        • Tesla Solar Review
        • Sunrun Solar Review
        • SunPower Solar Review
        • Vivint Solar Review
        • See All Companies
      • Common Solar Questions
        • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
        • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
        • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
        • Can You Finance Solar?
        • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
        • Payback On Solar Panels?
      • Solar Resources
        • Interactive Solar Calculator
        • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
        • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
        • Tesla Solar Roof Review
        • Cheapest Solar Panels
      • Companies Compared
        • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs SunPower
        • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
        • SunPower vs ADT Solar
EcoWatch
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
    • Go Solar Today
    • Top Companies By State
      • California Solar Companies
      • Texas Solar Companies
      • New York Solar Companies
      • Florida Solar Companies
      • See All States
    • Top Incentives By State
      • California Solar Incentives
      • Texas Solar Incentives
      • New York Solar Incentives
      • Florida Solar Incentives
      • See All States
    • Solar Panel Costs By State
      • Solar Panel Costs in California
      • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
      • Solar Panel Costs in New York
      • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
      • See All States
    • Value of Solar by State
      • Is Solar Worth It In California?
      • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
      • Is Solar Worth It New York?
      • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
      • See All States
    • Company Reviews
      • Tesla Solar Review
      • Sunrun Solar Review
      • SunPower Solar Review
      • Vivint Solar Review
      • See All Companies
    • Common Solar Questions
      • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
      • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
      • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
      • Can You Finance Solar?
      • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
      • Payback On Solar Panels?
    • Solar Resources
      • Interactive Solar Calculator
      • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
      • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
      • Tesla Solar Roof Review
      • Cheapest Solar Panels
    • Companies Compared
      • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs SunPower
      • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
      • SunPower vs ADT Solar

The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    EcoWatch
    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    Home Health + Wellness

    Forever Chemicals Contaminate More than 17,000 Sites in Europe and UK, New Map Reveals

    By: Olivia Rosane
    Updated: February 24, 2023
    Edited by Chris McDermott
    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon
    A 3M PFAS plant in Zwijndrecht, Flanders, is a PFAS contamination “hot spot.”
    A 3M PFAS plant in Zwijndrecht, Flanders, is a PFAS contamination “hot spot.” DAVID PINTENS / BELGA / AFP via Getty Images
    Why you can trust us

    Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

    There are more than 17,000 sites across Europe that have been contaminated with toxic forever chemicals and another more than 21,000 sites that have likely been polluted.

    That’s one main finding from “The Forever Pollution Project,” a month’s-long collaboration between 18 European newsrooms to investigate and map the extent of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pollution across the continent and in the UK.

    “After our data collection on an unprecedented scale, this map is the first to illustrate the widespread contamination of Europe by these toxic and persistent substances,” reporters at Le Monde wrote on Thursday. 

    More From EcoWatch
    • The Best Solar Powered Water Pumps
    • What Are Solar Panels Made Of?
    • The Best Off-Grid Solar Systems

    The French newspaper developed the investigation along with Germany’s NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung; Italy’s RADAR Magazine and Le Scienze; and the Netherlands’ The Investigative Desk and NRC, according to the project website. It involved scouring over more than 1,200 confidential documents from the European Commission and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). The final result was a “Forever Pollution Map” that revealed the following data points, according to Le Monde:

    1. 20 PFAS production facilities, where the chemicals are actually synthesized.
    2. More than 17,000 sites that have tested positive for PFAS contamination.
    3. 232 sites that use PFAS to make other products, from plastics to pesticides to waterproof clothing.
    4. More than 21,000 sites that have not been tested, but where contamination is likely based on the industrial or military activities that occurred there.
    5. More than 2,100 “hotspots” with contamination levels of at least 100 nanograms per liter (ng/L), which experts consider a health risk. 

    At around 640 “hotspot” sites, concentrations were more than 1,000 ng/L and, at 300 sites, more than 10,000 ng/L, The Guardian reported. 

    “These sorts of concentrations raise concerns with me,” professor Crispin Halsall, a Lancaster University environmental chemist, told The Guardian. “You have the risk of livestock gaining access to those waters and [then PFAS is] in the human food web.” 

    PFAS are a class of chemicals that have been widely used in a variety of products including firefighting foam, nonstick cookware and stain- or water-resistant clothing. They are concerning because they have been linked to a number of human health ailments including cancer, immune suppression, metabolic diseases and developmental or reproductive problems. Further, they are difficult to break down and therefore persist in the environment or the human body, hence the name “forever chemicals.” 

    The map is the first such map to cover Europe and the UK, and the journalists based their work on peer-reviewed methods from the U.S.-based PFAS Project Lab and PFAS Sites and Community Resources Map, according to the project website.

    “It is a necessary and also scary result that you have achieved here,” said Phil Brown of Northeastern University, who coordinated the U.S. map. 

    The map comes the same month that the ECHA proposed an EU-wide PFAS ban. In the UK, only the two PFAS PFOA and PFOS are covered by regulations, according to The Guardian.

    “Our primary goal is to inform the public and to provide data to impacted community members, researchers and regulators, and to contribute to building knowledge on PFAS contamination for the public interest,” Le Monde wrote. “Potentially contaminated sites could therefore be prioritized by governments to conduct sampling campaigns and tailor action plans to protect the public.”

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Olivia Rosane

      Olivia Rosane is a freelance writer and reporter with a decade’s worth of experience. She has been contributing to EcoWatch daily since 2018 and has also covered environmental themes for Treehugger, The Trouble, YES! Magazine and Real Life. She holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and a master’s in Art and Politics from Goldsmiths, University of London.
      Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

      Read More

      Spreading Infections of Flesh-Eating Bacteria Linked to Climate Change
      The number of Vibrio vulnificus infections is on the rise
      By Paige Bennett
      <strong>Researchers Develop Method to Permanently Destroy Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Water Supply</strong>
      Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are known as “forever chemicals” because
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
      Fossil Fuels 101: Everything You Need to Know
      Quick Key Facts
      By Olivia Rosane

      Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

        By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

        Latest Articles

        • UK Think Tank Proposes Visas for Climate Migrants
          by Olivia Rosane
          March 26, 2023
        • Why Does White East Palestine, Ohio Get Apologies, But None for Black Cancer Alley?
          by The Root
          March 26, 2023
        • How National Negotiators Influenced the Final Text of the Latest IPCC ‘Summary for Policymakers’
          by Olivia Rosane
          March 26, 2023
        • More Than Half of Australia’s Shallow Reef Species in Decline as Oceans Warm
          by Olivia Rosane
          March 26, 2023
        • English Lawyers Refuse to Prosecute Climate Protestors in ‘Declaration of Conscience’
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          March 24, 2023
        • Spreading Infections of Flesh-Eating Bacteria Linked to Climate Change
          by Paige Bennett
          March 24, 2023
        • Musk’s Boring Company Wants to Dump Wastewater in Texas River, Worrying Local Residents
          by Olivia Rosane
          March 24, 2023
        • Researchers Develop Method to Permanently Destroy Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Water Supply
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          March 24, 2023
        EcoWatch

        The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

          • Climate Climate
          • Animals Animals
          • Health + Wellness Health + Wellness
          • Insights + Opinion Insights + Opinion
          • Adventure Adventure
          • Oceans Oceans
          • Business Business
          • Solar Solar
          • About EcoWatch
          • Contact EcoWatch
          • EcoWatch Reviews
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Learn About Solar Energy
          • Learn About Deregulated Energy
          • EcoWatch UK
          Follow Us
          Facebook 573k
          Twitter 238k
          Instagram 37k
          Subscribe Subscribe

          Experts for a healthier planet and life.

          Mentioned by:
          Learn more