The “PFAS Working Group,” an expert committee of the Cabinet Office Food Safety Commission that assesses the health effects of organic fluorine compounds (PFAS), which are suspected of being carcinogenic, held a meeting in Tokyo on the 26th. Regarding the permissible intake amount from drinking water, etc., the government has approved an indicator of 20 nanograms per kilogram of body weight (nanometer is one billionth) for each of the two PFAS substances, PFOS and PFOA. The index used to calculate the provisional target value for tap water has been extended to include all food and beverages, and it is more than 60 times higher than the acceptable intake level adopted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
The index values were included in the PFAS health impact assessment report compiled at that day’s meeting. According to the Food Safety Commission, this is the first time that the government has presented an assessment of the health effects of PFAS.
PFAS working group discussing the health effects of PFAS
The assessment adopted research used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2016 to calculate acceptable intake levels. Meanwhile, the limit set by EFSA in 2020 is 0.63 nanograms per kilogram of body weight. The total allowable amount for PFOS and PFOA is 40 nanograms, which is 64 times higher than the EFSA value.
The most important health impact was the health impact on the newborn child. In December last year, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a specialized organization of the World Health Organization (WHO), said there was insufficient evidence regarding carcinogenicity, and there were concerns about health effects if the amount exceeded the allowable limit. Not used.
Regarding health effects, it was determined that “the association cannot be denied” among liver function indicators, increased cholesterol levels, decreased immunity, and decreased birth weight. (Kyota Matsushima)
2024-01-26 12:44:37
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