New Waste Sweden Report on PFAS at Waste Facilities

PFAS in water from waste facilities and landfills has received frequent attention in recent years. A new report (Avfall Sverige 2026:04) has now been produced in response to proposed changes to the EQS Directive linked to the EU Water Framework Directive, in which a new RPF‑weighted environmental quality standard (EQS; 4.4 ng/L PFOA equivalents) for the sum parameter PFAS24 (later expanded to PFAS25 including TFA) is intended to be introduced for surface waters. The aim of the study was to map the occurrence of PFAS24 in outgoing leachate from Swedish waste facilities with landfills and to compare these concentrations with the former sum parameter PFAS11.

The study was based on the collection of analytical data via a questionnaire sent to waste facilities, with a total of 28 facilities included after selection based on the availability of PFAS24 data. Data processing comprised statistical analyses focusing on median and mean values, as well as calculation of both unweighted and weighted PFAS24 expressed as PFOA equivalents. The report also provides an overarching description of PFAS as a substance group and of the occurrence and variability of PFAS in leachate from waste facilities. The sum parameter PFAS24 is addressed in its then proposed form without inclusion of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), since analyses of TFA were not included in the project’s data collection.

The results show that the median concentration of PFAS11 was approximately 1,300 ng/L, while the median concentration of unweighted PFAS24 was about 1,350 ng/L and the median concentration of weighted PFAS24 approximately 500 ng/L. PFAS11 and unweighted PFAS24 followed each other both in terms of concentration levels and substance distribution, indicating that PFAS11 captures the most frequently occurring PFAS within PFAS24 in leachate. Unweighted sums were dominated by shorter‑ chain PFCAs such as PFHxA, PFPeA, and PFBA, together with PFOA, PFHpA, and PFOS, whereas weighted PFAS24 was primarily dominated by PFOA and PFOS, followed by PFNA and PFHpA. When comparing different types of operations, higher concentrations were observed at facilities with both FA landfills and modern IFA landfills, while capped landfills exhibited lower concentrations. The three facilities that reported having full‑scale PFAS treatment generally showed lower concentrations, particularly of weighted PFAS24 reflecting the capture of longer PFAS. Overall, the results demonstrate that PFAS24 represents a challenge even for operations with treatment processes. In addition, the importance of including TFA in future studies must be considered.

Eurofins Analytical Offering

Eurofins provides both PFAS24 and TFA analyses, and we have recently expanded our portfolio with three PFAS25 packages. This expansion also includes a PFAS31 package covering PFAS25 plus PFAS20/21/22, addressing the differences between the Water Framework Directive and the Drinking Water Directive, including Swedish and Danish additions. In addition, we offer a PFAS57 package that covers the lists above and can be used for broader screening purposes. All packages include an RPF‑weighted PFAS25 sum. There is also an option to add the former RPF‑weighted PFAS24 sum.

Four 100 mL PFAS bottles are required, of which we strongly recommend that two are frozen for preservation of telomer alcohols (FTOHs). The turnaround time is 10 working days, and express options are available. For more information about the packages, please see our online analytical catalogue.

For questions related to PFAS, our analytical advisory service is available via customer support at +46 10‑490 8110 or by e‑mail at sh-analys.miljo.se@etn.eurofins.com.

Links

Avfall Sverige (in Swedish)
Eurofins news (PFAS25)
Eurofins online catalogue