WHO Drops Weak PFAS Guidelines and Starts Anew After Criticism Over Industry Influence

August 14, 2024

Read the full article by Edward Carver (Common Dreams)

"The World Health Organization has scrapped its draft guidelines for "forever chemicals" in drinking water and restarted scientific review following criticism that its previous process was unduly influenced by industry-linked science, The Guardian reported Wednesday.

Leading scientists and public health experts from around the world had for the last two years called on the WHO to reverse course after the organization released draft guidelines they deemed to be far too weak to protect human health. Regulators in the United States and the European Union now have much stricter standards for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) than those the WHO was proposing.

WHO guidelines are consequential because regulators in many countries use them to set standards, and they can be cited in industry-backed lawsuits that argue that a national or subnational regulatory standard is too strict."

Topics:

• ChemicalsPFAS
• Environment
• Wildlife
• Remediation
• Filtration
• Impact
• ImpactDrinking water
• Measurement Techniques
• Monitoring Data