PFAS chemicals pose threat to human rights and environment

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on toxic substances, Marcos Orellana, has issued a report stating that perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pose a grave threat to human rights and the environment. The report calls for an immediate ban on all non-essential uses of these highly persistent chemicals, which can irreversibly alter ecosystems and compromise human health.

In Europe, new regulatory thresholds for PFAS in fish are set to significantly impact food safety standards. While recent data showed 9.3% of Italian fish samples exceeded previous limits, the new PFAS-24 standard approved by the European Parliament and Council in 2026 will have a much stricter impact. Under this new parameter, which measures the sum of 24 PFAS as PFOA equivalents, 100% of the analyzed Italian values exceed the proposed limit of 77 ng/kg of fresh weight. This represents a drastic reduction from the previous standard of 9,100 ng/kg.