2023-11-14 05:00:00
Toxicologist Alfred Bernard (UCLouvain) was invited on the set of the show QR l’actu this Monday to take stock of the latest revelations concerning PFAS pollution in Walloon waters.
According to the expert, politicians have acted dangerously in relation to this problem. “They played with the health of the most vulnerable. We are here with absolutely disastrous risk management. When there is a peak in air pollution, we warn the population and recommend, for example, not to exercise. When there is contamination in the food chain, the FASFC intervenes, seizes the products and the population is informed. We should have the same risk management strategy in the case of contaminations like these.“
Today, an official in the office of the Walloon Minister of the Environment Céline Tellier (Ecolo) is singled out because he did not provide the adequate reports at the right time but, according to Alfred Bernard, this response is not sufficient. “Risk management is an extremely important aspect in the prevention of these substances. However, the political world is responsible for this risk management. We created the AFSCA following the dioxin crisis, we should have a body comparable to the Walloon Water Company (SWDE). A scientific committee which manages and makes recommendations.”
The toxicologist nevertheless urges us not to panic and indicates that the risks of water contaminated by PFAS are extremely low for adults. “These are risks that are probably lower than those of an unbalanced diet consisting of processed products and too few fruits and vegetables.” He finally invites citizens to go to the SWDE website to consult data on PFAS levels by municipality.
>> The full interview can be found in the video at the start of the article.
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