News item | 19-10-2022 | 17:00
In response to the RIVM report about PFAS in drinking water, Minister Harbers (Infrastructure and Water Management) is having permits adjusted for discharges into waste water. This should mean that the discharges together remain below the limit of the amount that is allowed in drinking water according to the RIVM.
PFAS are very small substances that can have a negative effect on your health in the long term. They are spread throughout our environment: in air, soil and water, but also in consumer products, food and drinking water.
Minister Harbers: “RIVM concludes that we can drink our tap water. Still, they advise reducing the PFAS level in drinking water, because we get PFAS in more ways than just drinking water. Clean and sufficient drinking water is a priority for me, I think it is very important that we can continue to drink tap water everywhere in the Netherlands. That is why I am now taking various measures.”
The amount of PFAS in our drinking water remains almost everywhere below the safe limit of the amount of PFAS that you can ingest. Nevertheless, the RIVM advises to reduce this, since PFAS enters your body in more ways than just via drinking water. The RIVM recommends a maximum value of 4.4 nanograms per litre.
New measures
It will immediately be examined whether permits for discharges into waste water need to be adjusted, so that a maximum of 4.4 nanograms per liter of PFAS is measured at the location where the drinking water is extracted. New permits must comply with this, existing permits will be tightened up accordingly. The aim is to prevent pollution in advance, instead of drinking water companies having to remove the PFAS themselves.
In addition, Minister Harbers and Minister Kuipers (Public Health, Welfare and Sport) will assign a new assignment to RIVM. RIVM is being asked to map out the ways in which PFAS enters people. And the RIVM is asked to propose measures based on this to reduce exposure to PFAS.
Ban on PFAS in products
The government and the drinking water sector are also working together to reduce the amount of PFAS in drinking water. We are already seeing local results through smart adjustments to our business operations. In addition, the ministry continues to focus on the EU ban on PFAS in products.