For decades, the chemical PFOA has contaminated the drinking water in the Altötting district and the blood of the people who have drunk it. But the health department is currently not in a position to carry out another large-scale blood test in the population.
The planned PFOA follow-up examination of around 1,000 district citizens is currently simply not possible because of the enormous resources that Corona binds, writes the Altötting district office at the request of the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation. Implementation is not realistic until autumn next year at the earliest.
At the same time, the authority assures that the delay would not result in any disadvantages for those affected. According to the district office, the drinking water is now being thoroughly cleaned so that no PFOA can be absorbed in this way.
Citizens’ initiative is dissatisfied
The citizens’ initiative for clean drinking water in the Altötting district is very dissatisfied with the postponement of the investigations. People have a right to quickly find out whether their PFOA levels in their blood have actually decreased as predicted in recent years, said a spokesman for the BR. This is particularly important because the possible health risk from PFOA and some other chemicals has been estimated to be significantly higher internationally since the first blood analyzes.
PFOA is considered to be potentially carcinogenic
PFOA and similar substances have been linked to high blood pressure, high cholesterol and cancer. In 2018, blood analyzes in the Altötting district showed an average PFOA load of 24 micrograms per liter. The Federal Environment Agency now sees the risk of relevant health impairment from the chemical from a value of 10 µg / L.
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