Broadening the monitoring of PFAS

Few PFAS are currently monitored

PFAS are a group of several thousand chemicals that can accumulate and spread in the environment. Knowledge of their toxicity is limited. Of the thousands of PFAS, few have been researched and documented, except for some substances that are included in regulatory control schemes.

Today, four PFAS are regulated and monitored in certain foods (eggs, meat products and fishery products). Twenty PFAS are listed in the Drinking Water Directive and will be added to the mandatory monitoring programme as of 1 January 2026.

Unprecedented survey of two million contamination data for 142 PFAS

In this context, ANSES carried out an unprecedented review of the available data on PFAS contamination in France. Between September 2023 and September 2024, the Agency compiled and analysed nearly two million data relating to 142 PFAS. Measurements had been taken for these substances in various compartments – drinking water, environmental water, sediment, biota (all the living organisms within a specific ecosystem), food, air, indoor and outdoor dust, and soil – as well as in human biological matrices (blood, urine, breast milk, etc.) and consumer goods (cosmetics, textiles, and so on).

All these data came from the databases of existing monitoring schemes and networks, the scientific literature and the industrial sector (federations, associations), mainly in France. When data were not available for certain compartments, European data were taken into account, particularly for air, soil and dust. For consumer goods, as the market is global, the search was carried out without geographical restrictions.

For biomonitoring, the Agency referred to the expertise of Santé publique France, which coordinates the national biomonitoring programme. It took two studies into account: Esteban, undertaken by Santé publique France, and Elfe, run by the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm).

Widely varying contamination data

Following this work, the Agency stresses that the number of available data varies greatly depending on the compartment and substance. While there is a wealth of data on water (aquatic environments and drinking water) and food, far fewer data are available for air, dust and soil, partly because these are not currently covered by any monitoring activities.

The work carried out involved estimating PFAS contamination levels in all compartments. Concerning biomonitoring data, the average PFAS levels measured in the blood of the French population were below the very few available thresholds (for PFOS and PFOA) and were comparable to the levels measured elsewhere in Europe. With regard to occupational exposure, no French data were identified.

Broadening monitoring in light of the available data on the toxicity and occurrence of PFAS

To propose an extension of monitoring appropriate for the situation, ANSES developed a method for categorising PFAS. To this end, toxicity data were collected, leading to the identification of 105 additional substances.

This work enabled 247 PFAS (including trifluoroacetic acid, or TFA) to be integrated into the monitoring strategy.

The method developed involved cross-referencing the levels of available information on the:

• occurrence of a substance in the various compartments;
• toxicity of the substance: existence of toxicological values, classification as a carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic substance or endocrine disruptor (ED), and ecotoxicity data.

The results have led ANSES to propose three monitoring strategies:

• permanent monitoring: for the most concerning and recurrent substances, as part of national monitoring plans,
• occasional exploratory monitoring: for substances that are not currently screened for or are insufficiently screened for,
• localised monitoring: for substances corresponding to confirmed or suspected sources of past or present contamination.

These monitoring strategies are proposed for human biological matrices (blood, urine, breast milk, etc.) and for the following compartments: drinking water, environmental water, sediment, biota (all the living organisms within a specific ecosystem), food, air, indoor and outdoor dust, and soil.

It will be up to the public authorities and the relevant stakeholders (employers, entities responsible for activities that emit or use PFAS) to adapt their monitoring strategies in view of these recommendations.

Guiding the collection of additional data and research into substances

ANSES stresses the importance of investigating other specific sources of contamination, including food contact materials, materials in contact with water, building materials and consumer goods. The Agency particularly recommends assessing the likelihood of PFAS being released or emitted from these goods and materials.

ANSES also points out that knowledge on the toxicity of PFAS remains limited to a group of representative substances and that their toxicity mechanisms are varied. To advance the study of these substances, the Agency is calling for priority to be given to research aimed at identifying:

• substances that result from the degradation of many other PFAS;
• substances that significantly accumulate and/or persist in living organisms.

Moreover, ANSES recommends acquiring knowledge on occupational exposure based in particular on the work of the French National Research and Safety Institute (INRS).

Updating PFAS monitoring as new contamination and toxicity data are acquired

The advantage of the method developed by ANSES is that it is dynamic and can be regularly updated. The Agency is calling for the establishment of a national system to regularly update the proposed categorisation with the new data that are acquired. The Agency recommends entrusting the coordination of this national system to the various stakeholders involved in the interministerial plan on PFAS (in French).

Substances other than PFAS – for example, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals – persist in the environment and need to be monitored for their health effects. ANSES is calling for the development of a comprehensive approach to the monitoring of chemical contaminants. It would be appropriate to develop integrated risk assessment and management strategies that take account of the intrinsic hazards of different compounds, their occurrence in compartments and the actual exposure of the population.

Furthermore, ANSES points out that to combat this pollution, it is critical to act at the source by limiting emissions of this entire large class of substances. Such is the purpose of the European restriction currently being reviewed by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), which ANSES supports.