PFAS in the revised drinking water directive (DWD)
Just before Christmas a provisional agreement was reached by the EU parliament and the EU council of ministers. The provisional agreement is now subject to formal approval by the parliament and the council. Possibly these final decisions can be taken late spring or early summer. Following approval the member states have to transfer these new rules into national law.
Proposed limit values for PFAS
Among the new chemicals that are to be tested PFAS has perhaps received the most attention. In the provisional directive a list of 20 PFAS is presented and a parametric (limit) value will be given. The proposed limit value is 100 ng/l (0.1 µg/l) for the sum of the twenty. In addition, a PFAS total value is included that is, at present, likely to be 500 ng/l (0.5 µg/l). The EU commission has been given the responsibilty to make sure a method for measuring all PFAS is developed over the next three years. Therafter a new limit value for total PFAS may be enforced. Member states can then continue to use the existing parametric value for PFAS20 or apply the PFAS total limit, or both at the same time. Later on a “harmonization” between the two approaches will be investigated.
Range of PFAS to be tested
In Annex III of the EU council’s proposal from Feb/March 2019 sixteen PFAS are suggested. In the provisional agreement a further four were added. The compounds comprise two series, one with PFCA (perfluoro carboxylic acid) and one with PFSA (perfluoro sulphonic acids), both in the range 4 to 13 carbons, making up 20 in total. Although most of these PFAS are well known there are two that are “new” in this circumstance, the C11 and C13 PFSA (PFUnDS and PFTrS). In fact there are, to the best of our knowledge, no standards available from reckognised suppliers. Thus at present semiquantative analysis of the two is the most feasible option, though higher LOQs and measurement uncertainty are unavoidable. However, we expect that in most waters the levels of these long PFSA are (very) limited judging from our experience with analysis of C10 and C12 sulphonates.
Eurofins PFAS offer – new packages
Eurofins has now prepared, as first major commercial laboratory, new packages including PFAS20 for both clean and unclean waters. As stated above PFUnDS plus PFTrS are semiquantitatively determined while remain 18 are fully quantitative and accredited. To further improve usability of the packs, besides PFAS20, 6:2 FTS and the Swedish Food Agency PFAS11 are reported too. 6:2 FTS can be present at significant concentrations and also indicate modern telomere based fire fighting foams. The package codes are PLWFW (clean waters) and PLWLY (unclean) and the regular delivery time (TAT) is 5 working days. Two 100ml PE bottles are required and we prefer that you use bottles supplied by us due to handling and quality aspects. Additional information can be found in our search engine online.
Eurofins can also offer a range of PFAS total methods. Among those discussed, TOP (total oxidizable presursors) and AOF (adsorbable organic fluorine) can be analysed on a regular basis, please see our online catalogue. Concerning TOF (total organic fluorine) and EOF (extractable organic fluorine) contact us for further information.
We would like to stress that the DWD agreement and directive are provisional and no final decision has been taken. Thus the information given above may be subject to change, and we can take no responsibility for any consequences thereof.
Links:
Press release: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_19_6830
Press briefing Greens/EFA: https://www.greens-efa.eu/en/article/press/europe-will-benefit-from-public-drinking-water-dispensers-and-cleaner-water/
Council draft Feb 2019: https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-6876-2019-REV-1/en/pdf
http://www.eureau.org/resources/eu-matters-blog/394-drinking-water-directive-political-agreement-reached
Eureau blog: http://www.eureau.org/resources/eu-matters-blog/394-drinking-water-directive-political-agreement-reached
Contact Eurofins experts!
Questions on PFAS can be answered by Patrick van Hees: tel 010-490 8151, e-mail: patrickvanhees@eurofins.se