A new study has detected a toxic PFAS chemical in the blood of every single person tested.
The European study found trifluoroacetic acid, or TFA, in all 110 participants, at a median concentration of 21.22 nanograms per milliliter, a level the report describes as among the highest yet measured in humans.
The findings are adding urgency to calls from PAN Europe to ban PFAS pesticides, which the group says are a major source of TFA contamination in food and water.
Here's what to know
PAN Europe said the Greens in the European Parliament backed the blood analysis, which examined both long-chain and short-chain PFAS.
Across the 110 samples, TFA appeared in every one, with concentrations ranging from 4.67 to 58.35 ng/mL, 4 to 5 times higher than the long-chain PFAS assessed at the same time.
Certain substances that contain -CF3, including PFAS pesticides, can break down into TFA, an ultra-short PFAS. Because it is persistent and highly mobile, people can be repeatedly exposed to it through water, food, and other parts of the environment.
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No benchmark tied to health effects has yet been set for TFA levels in human blood. PAN Europe said the European Food Safety Authority based a TFA acceptable daily intake of 0.0064 milligrams per pound (0.014 milligrams per kilogram) of body weight on thyroid toxicity.
A rough estimate puts that intake level at about 24 ng/mL in blood, close to the 21.22 ng/mL median measured in this group.
More background
According to PAN Europe, about 30 PFAS pesticide active substances and hundreds of products derived from them are still sold in Europe, and almost all of those substances can degrade into TFA.
When used, these substances can release TFA directly into soil, food crops, and groundwater.
The organization and its network have also said they found TFA in rivers, tap water, bottled mineral water, wine, and cereal-based food. Food levels were roughly 100 times water levels, making diet a major public exposure pathway.
PAN Europe cited a study in China that found TFA in 97% of 252 adults, with a median of 8.5 ng/mL. A U.S. study detected it in 74% of 81 adults and reported a median of 6 ng/L, while research from North Carolina reported a median TFA level of 17 ng/mL. It also cited the Norwegian EuroMix cohort, where the median was 6.22 ng/mL for participants not using fluoxetine and 27.7 ng/mL for users of the fluorinated pharmaceutical.
What's being done?
The group is pressing for an immediate ban on PFAS pesticides, while also calling on the EU to move faster on a broader PFAS restriction covering other TFA sources.
PAN Europe said existing EU pesticide rules already provide grounds for action, citing cases where some PFAS pesticides push TFA in groundwater above the legal limit of 0.038 micrograms per gallon (0.01 micrograms per liter).
The group traced the debate back to 2023, when the EU proposed a PFAS restriction but excluded PFAS pesticides because regulators believed pesticide law already covered them and expected them to be phased out.
Instead, PAN Europe explained, residue levels from PFAS pesticides in fruit and vegetables rose threefold from 2011 to 2021.
It also highlighted research on Austrian groundwater showing TFA concentrations rose sharply, linking those levels to nitrate and pesticide use rather than other PFAS.
Angeliki Lysimachou, Head of Science and Policy at PAN Europe, stated, "This widespread contamination with TFA must sound the alarm. TFA is highly persistent, mobile, and toxic, and we know if continuous exposure reaches certain levels, it can affect human development, including during the earliest stages of life in the womb. Yet as we continue to release TFA into the environment, contamination levels keep rising.
"It is incomprehensible that EU governments and the European Commission are still failing to urgently act to stop the use of PFAS pesticides that release TFA."
Where can I learn more?
For more on how PFAS and related chemicals show up in food, water, and everyday products, these articles explore the issue from several angles.
• In California, waterways are contaminated with PFAS linked in part to pesticide use.
• In the United States, the FDA rejected limits on PFAS in food despite exposure warnings.
• Across households, PFAS chemicals resist water, grease, and heat while lingering for years.
• Scientists say forever chemicals may trigger brain-cell changes that raise new health concerns.
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