PFAS in almost all of Sweden's drinking water

Published 21 October 2024 at 11.38

Domestic. Naturskyddsföreningen has tested tap water in 63 locations around Sweden. Just over nine out of ten samples contained the environmental toxins PFAS. All samples from surface water around the country contained PFAS.

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– It is frightening that environmental toxins whose consequences we know so little about are in the water we drink, says Karin Lexén, secretary general of the Nature Conservation Society, in a statement.

The Nature Conservation Society has analyzed tap water from 63 properties. 31 have municipal water, 21 private wells and 11 get their water through communities. PFAS were found in 9 out of 10 samples. Surface water from 19 lakes and streams and a rainwater sample have also been collected and analyzed, all of which contained PFAS.

– Despite the fact that PFAS can cause cancer and other serious diseases, it continues to spread. PFAS do not belong in nature or our bodies, says Karin Lexén.

Every tenth drinking water sample is above the new limit value for PFAS in drinking water of 4 ng/L which will come into effect in 2026. The municipalities that in the Nature Conservation Association's survey exceed the upcoming limit value is Gävle, Halmstad and Västerås.

Many PFAS substances can be purified from water using carbon filters, but there are variants that are too small to be captured. TFA is one of the smallest PFAS substances that is easily spread by rain over large areas, and is the PFAS substance that the Norwegian Nature Protection Association found in the highest concentrations in the water samples.

PFAS that have ended up in nature do not disappear by themselves , and cleaning up contaminated land and water is a costly and complicated process. Therefore, the levels of PFAS are increasing steadily, as the environmental toxins are allowed to be used.

Very small amounts can do a lot of damage. A spice measure of PFAS-4 contaminates 175 swimming pools with drinking water.

– Continuing to release PFAS into nature and at the same time spending enormous resources on trying to clean up the same environmental toxins is neither economically nor environmentally sustainable. We obviously have to clean up contaminated land and clean contaminated drinking water, but the only way to stop the spread is to ban PFAS, says Karin Lexén.

There are thousands of PFAS substances, of which 26 were analyzed in the Nature Conservation Association's study. PFAS is a group of very difficult-to-degrade substances that can be found, among other things, in frying pans, functional clothing, pesticides and beauty products. Of the thousands of PFAS on the market, the majority are untested. The PFAS substances that have been investigated have been linked to cancer, liver damage, thyroid disorders and negative effects on reproductive capacity.

– Based on our investigation, it can be concluded that PFAS are found in our drinking water all over the country. This means that we ingest environmental toxins directly from the tap, says Karin Lexén.