«In Tuscany there have been cases of Pfas contamination documented for at least ten years. But the Region has never seriously addressed the problem: there is no provision on industrial waste, like those adopted by Piedmont and Veneto, awaiting national legislation”, he states Giuseppe Ungherese, head of the Greenpeace Italia Pollution campaign. The pollution levels allowed in Piedmont and Veneto, for the association, are questionable but at least the regional regulations represent a clear signal of political direction.
Already in the study published in 2013 by the National Research Council – Cnr, which highlighted the pollution of the groundwater between the provinces of Vicenza, Padua and Verona, High levels of poly and perfluoroalkyl compounds dangerous for human health had also been identified in Tuscany, linked to the presence of the tanning industry between Pisa and Florence and the textile industry in Prato. Subsequently, over the years, the data were confirmed by periodic surveys by the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection. In 2022, PFAS were present in 76% of surface water, 36% of groundwater and 56% of samples of animal and plant organisms.
The Greenpeace investigation
In January 2024, Greenpeace Italia also carried out independent analyses, not only verifying the already known contamination, but detecting a further source in the Lucca paper district and to a lesser extent in the horticultural sector in the Pistoia area. In the latter case, Pfas are linked to the use of pesticides (here is the report with all the data). «The discovery of the link with the paper industry should not be surprising, given that the use of these molecules in the sector is well known, but the issue had never been explored in depth by the relevant Tuscan bodies», comments Ungherese, who adds: « The Region must identify all polluting sources of Pfas e activate local health authorities to start investigations on drinking water as soon as possible, especially in areas where high levels of contamination are recorded.”
Greenpeace activists carried out sampling in the rivers, upstream and downstream of the industrial purification plants, detecting increasingly higher concentrations after discharges. In the case of the Ombrone river, in the textile district, for example, downstream the value was twenty times higher. The samples were analyzed according to two different methodologies: one with “targets”, which allow the identification of 57 different Pfas molecules, the other with an analytical technique that measures organic fluorine (method ofAdsorbable organic fluoride) and returns an estimate of all over 10,000 molecules that cannot be individually measured.
In the paper sector, especially for food packaging, in the textile and tanning sectors, underlines Greenpeace, there are already several alternatives to the use of PFAS. In addition to Denmark, France has also recently banned them, with some glaring exceptions.
Furthermore, precisely in Tuscany, dozens of small and medium-sized businesses have joined the Italian Detox Consortium, based in Prato, which since 2015 has adopted the principles of Greenpeace’s Detox campaign, adopting virtuous management and monitoring systems and through replacement with safer alternatives.
No more Pfas: the request also from Tuscany
«After Veneto, Lombardy and Piedmont, numerous critical issues have also emerged in Tuscany which confirm that PFAS pollution is a national emergency out of control. How much longer will our government continue to ignore the problem, condemning entire territories to suffer the effects of pollution? We immediately need a national law that prohibits the use and production of these dangerous molecules, there is no more time to waste”, concludes Ungherese.
Alongside Greenpeace, more and more committees and citizens’ groups are asking the institutions for greater clarity and concrete answers. Clara Gonnelli, president of the Association for citizens’ rights – Adic Toscana, explains that the Pfas issue also emerged in relation to the impact of biodigesters. «A problematic aspect is that linked to the presence of possible chemicals in the biomass matrix given to these plants. For example, those coming from poor separate waste collection may also contain Pfas, given their very wide use. There are no limits for the emissions of these molecules into the air and we don’t even know exactly what reactions take place after their combustion. Our network, which includes many committees and associations, calls for respect for constitutional rights and the consequent banning of dangerous chemicals such as PFAS.”
Adic Toscana has joined the initiative of the No Pfas Mothers of the Veneto and is sending a request to the Municipalities of the region to join a motion with which they undertake to ask the Italian Parliament to ban perfluoroalkyl substances as soon as possible.
The opening photo is from Greenpeace Italia
