Exposure to toxic levels of Pfas could increase the risk of dying from oncological and cardiovascular causes. This was demonstrated, for the first time, by Italian research, carried out in the 30 municipalities of the Veneto region affected by the contamination of groundwater with Pfas caused by industrial waste from the Miteni plant in Trissino, and which came to light in 2013.
The study, carried out by researchers from the University of Padua and the Romagna Institute for the Study of Tumors, is based on the analysis of the death certificates of residents of the provinces of Vicenza, Padua and Verona relating to the years between 1980 and 2018. By limiting the area of exposure to PFAS to the municipalities of the “red zone” served by the aqueducts involved in the contamination of the Trissino company, and considering 1985 as the probable date of the start of exposure to the substances, the researchers therefore calculated the population mortality rates for various pathologies, and compared them with those expected in the general population.
The results, published in the journal Environmental Health, highlighted an excess of around 4 thousand deaths in contaminated areas, over the 38 years analysed, and an increase in deaths caused by various types of tumours: in particular renal carcinomas (from 16 cases to in the first five years of the period analyzed to 65 in the last five) and testicular tumors. The data collected, although rather indicative according to the authors, do not however allow us to establish a solid statistical link between Pfas and mortality from oncological causes.
However, the situation is different for cardiovascular diseases. “It is the first time that anyone has found strong evidence of an association between exposure to Pfas and cardiovascular mortality”, explains Annibale Biggeri, researcher at the University of Padua and first author of the study. In part, Biggeri and colleagues believe that the cardiovascular mortality observed in the period under examination could be linked to the psychological effects (for many, comparable to a serious syndrome such as post-traumatic stress disorder) of the environmental catastrophe experienced by the resistants of the area to starting from 2013.
From Pfas to the wall of cholesterol in the blood
But for the most part, cardiac deaths are probably linked to increased cholesterol in the body caused by exposure to PFAS, a danger that is difficult to address without knowing precisely the cause, because it cannot be solved with dietary changes or lifestyles, but only by avoiding constant contact with these chemicals. Furthermore, the risks were found to be proportional to the duration of exposure, and reduced in the case of women who experience multiple pregnancies, a detail which may be linked to the fact that Pfas accumulate in the placenta and are transmitted to the unborn child, reducing the levels accumulated in the maternal organism.
In short, many clues seem to indicate that exposure to dangerous levels of Pfas may represent a direct risk factor for oncological and cardiovascular diseases. The study cannot demonstrate a causal link, but the results add to those of many other studies in recent years, and to the recent decision of the IARC to include one of these substances, PFOA, in the list of certain carcinogens, and a another, Pfos, among those possible. According to the authors of the new study, this should be enough to evaluate an immediate ban on the production of Pfas, and on remediation activities in contaminated areas such as those of the Veneto.
Cities where contaminated water is drunk: almost 4 thousand deaths