The party’s leader Søren Pape Poulsen has confirmed the Conservatives want a ban on the use of PFAS in all consumer products including toys, cosmetics, jewellery, furniture, cleaning products and hobby products.

No other parties on Denmark’s right have so far called for a total ban on the chemicals in products, while left wing parties generally agree on the measure.

“Sometimes you have to be first. Just like Denmark did when we forbade phthalates in toys a few years ago. We have now raised a case at the EU and that can take five to ten years, and until then I think we should do it unilaterally,” Poulsen said.

“Children should not be exposed to more chemicals than absolutely necessary and at the moment they are, if they bite their rain jacket or bite their gloves,” he said.

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a large group of synthetic chemicals used in various products since the early 1950s. Their past uses include foam in fire extinguishers, food packaging and in textiles, carpets and paints. Also known as ‘forever chemicals’, they persist in water and soil and can cause harm to human health.

The government has said it wants a ban on PFAS at EU level and also seeks to limit use of the chemical in Denmark.

Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke in January announced a ban on the substance in fire extinguishers, effective from 2024. It has been banned in paper and card food packaging since 2020.

A first reading was scheduled in parliament on Thursday of a proposal by the left-wing party Red Green Alliance to ban PFAS in consumer products.

The party’s lead political spokesperson, Mai Villadsen, welcome the Conservative stance in a Twitter post.

Why is PFAS pollution a problem?

Due to their chemical properties, PFAS chemicals take a long time to break down. They can be found in very low concentrations in blood samples from populations all over the world.

They are, however, unwanted in the environment because they have been found to have concerning links to health complications.

PFAS have been linked to a series of health complications and, if ingested in high enough amounts, are suspected of causing liver damage, kidney damage, elevated cholesterol levels, reduced fertility, hormonal disturbances, weaker immune systems, negatively affecting foetal development and being carcinogenic.

Likely to have been transferred via fishmeal, which is included in feed for organic hens, the discovery has prompted concerns that children who eat many organic eggs could be at risk.

The contamination was found by the Danish National Food Institute in a study carried out in collaboration with the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration. Researchers also found lower levels in eggs from free-range, barn and battery hens.

‘Forever chemicals’
PFAS’s are known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they do not degrade in the environment and when eaten they can take 3-7 years before the substance concentration is halved.

Professor Kit Granby, of the DTU National Food Institute, said the feed sector in Denmark had voluntarily agreed to replace fishmeal in organic feed for egg laying hens and that the issue was being reported to the EU.

“The authorities shall perform national monitoring programmes to control PFAS in the major food raw materials for PFAS and report to the EU. Both obligations shall protect the consumers from dietary exposure to chemical contaminants including PFAS,” Granby told specialist media outlets.

Fishmeal contamination

Granby said the likely cause for the fishmeal contamination had been down to the raw materials in the feed as the ocean and seafood are polluted by atmospheric deposition of PFAS, which will contaminate fish.

The European Food Safety Authority has set, at the beginning of this year, the tolerable weekly intake of the sum of 4 specific PFAS (PFOA, PFNA, PFHxS and PFOS) at 4.4 nanograms per kg body weight per week. Among the children who eat a substantial number of eggs – 5-6 per week – the intake is 10 nanograms per kg body weight per week. In addition, all citizens in Denmark are further exposed to PFAS from many other foods and sources, which contribute to the total intake.

“When children are at risk of being exposed to more than twice as much PFAS solely from eggs as the amount that is the limit for a safe intake, the risk is noticeable,” added Granby.

However, she stressed that PFAS are not substances that make you actually ill, but if you consume large amounts for many years, it can affect the immune system.

PFAS chemicals, which have been found in the groundwater of a fifth of the country’s municipalities, are highly detrimental to human health. They are carcinogenic, increasing the risk of both kidney and testicular cancer, and do not degrade naturally.

Pressure is accordingly growing on the environment minister, Magnus Heunicke, to initiate an investigation into the presence of PFAS in Denmark’s rainfall.

Passing the buck
However, the ministry, along with the Miljøstyrelsen environmental protection agency, seem content to pass the buck to one another, without anything being decided.

This is a source of frustration for Enhedslisten, SF, Danmarksdemokraterne and Konservative, along with government parties Venstre and Moderaterne, who all support an investigation.

“When there is such a serious suspicion of PFAS in the rain, it obliges the government to start an investigation immediately,” Mai Villadsen, the environment spokesperson for Enhedslisten, told TV2.

Conclusive evidence
Tests carried out by TV2 Vejr in collaboration with the Eurofins laboratory in the autumn found PFAS present in four out of five rainfall samples taken.

In one of them, taken in Lyngby just north of Copenhagen, there were 1.5 nanograms of PFAS per litre – just 0.5 shy of what is considered to be a dangerous amount if consumed.

And it has just been acknowledged that PFAS was found in tests in 2004, which revealed a presence of 2.4 nanograms per litre of PFOS and 23.2 nanograms per litre of PFDA.

Withheld for nearly two decades
Villadsen cannot believe that the 2004 results were withheld for so long.

“It surprises me enormously, and it is something we will have to get to the bottom of. Why hasn’t the Danish Parliament been informed about this, when there has been so much focus on PFAS in recent years?” she asked.

Venstre’s spokesperson Erling Bonnesen has also urged the ministry to take action: “It is important to look at the presence of PFAS in everything, including in rain, if it is relevant. I don’t think it’s satisfactory in any way.”

The locations are to be tested because the authority does not know with certainty that they are not contaminated with PFAS, the health authority said.

“I want to stress that the Region does not expect in advance that PFAS chemicals will be found in the ground in amounts that can constitute a risk to children,” Poul Erik Jensen, head of the Region’s environment board, said in the statement.

“But a review of a number of different kindergartens, creches and playgrounds has identified 10 locations in the region where the risk of PFAS pollution cannot be dismissed,” he said.

“That should naturally be looked into so we are on the safe side,” he said.

The kindergartens and playgrounds to be tested are located in the municipalities of Assens, Faaborg-Midtfyn, Middelfart, Svendborg, Sønderborg, Varde, Fredericia and Vejle.

Local authorities have been advised of the decision to test the areas and issued advice related to necessary precautions.

Despite the decision to conduct the tests, the South Denmark Region does not consider any PFAS presence that might be detected to constitute an acute risk to children. This means the areas do not need to be closed off, Jensen said.

The tests will primarily take place during the upcoming Easter holidays to minimise disruption, he also said.

“Our experts’ assessment is that PFAS does not constitute a risk for children’s play with the soil. The playgrounds can therefore be used as they have been up to now until we have received the results of the investigations,” he said.

A common factor for each of the locations is that they are close to a former factory or waste disposal site. For this reason, they have already been tested for pollution, but PFAS testing did not form part of the standard testing at the time.

The results of the tests are expected to be available in May.