Food, Water, and PFAS: Investigating Grassroot Solutions to Chemical Pollution

While national and European authorities are slowly trying to address the issue with bans and regulations, local communities are suffering from the physical and psychological consequences of the "forever chemicals". The project looks at the solutions that local communities, producers, NGOs and researchers came up with, creating a connection between three different areas of Europe.

Czech Republic

PFAS have already existed for many decades, yet the Czech government and other institutions are starting to take notice to the danger, thanks to the EU directives. Research has proven that PFAS can be detected not only in the natural environment, but also in human blood and breast milk. The journalists tried to reveal the true extent of the problem and identified major risks and sources of PFAS for people: water, fast food packaging and fish.

Since the beginning of 2024, Czech water operators have a duty to monitor and report levels of PFAS in drinking water. According to the data provided to Ekonews by the ministry of health, the results are so far relatively positive, with levels of PFAS below the required limits. But scientists argue that these limits are terribly generous and water utility companies will have to prepare for stricter demands that will inevitably come in the future. There are companies, which are offering solutions and techniques to rid the water of PFAS, such as Photon Water.

Photo by Katerina Hefler