Forever chemicals: What are they and could they be totally banned in the EU?

Thierry Mounib has lived in the French city of Pierre-Bénite for 70 years. Since childhood, he has enjoyed the tranquillity of the same neighbourhood while watching the area develop and welcome more and more industrial companies. He was always aware of the risks involved, but he never imagined that one day he would find himself at the centre of one of France's biggest environmental scandals.

“I was presented with a fait accompli when the revelations about PFAS (forever chemicals) came out,” Mounib, the president of the association ‘Bien Vivre à Pierre-Bénite’ told Euronews.

In 2021, a journalist contacted him during a media investigation. The following year, the news broke: alarmingly high levels of forever chemicals were discovered in the water, soil, and air.

Two years after the revelations, Lyon’s metropolitan council has taken legal action against two chemical companies suspected of being responsible:the French firm Arkemaand the Japanese manufacturer Daikin. A judge recently ordered an independent expert report to assess the extent of the pollution and the companies' liability.

According to Bruno Bernard, president of the metropolitan council, the next step is to apply the "polluter pays" principle, which would hold companies financially responsible for the environmental damage they cause. Activists hope this could set a precedent in France.

However, the inhabitants of Pierre-Bénite have a new concern: the resumption of operations of a new Daikin unit that produces and stores additive polymers for the automotive industry, some of whose components are forever chemicals. After halting production for four months, the extension of the company has been authorised under new rules imposed by the state.

PFAS, short for per- and