PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid)
Cities measured
87
Detected in
87 / 87
Elevated / alert
6
EU limit
100 ng/L
Highest
6.2 ng/L — Beirut
Overview
PFOA is a long-chain perfluoroalkyl acid used historically in PTFE/Teflon coating manufacture, firefighting foams, and stain-resistant treatments. It is virtually indestructible in the environment — it bioaccumulates and biomagnifies through food chains. 3M halted production in 2001; DuPont in 2013 — after internal health data showing serious harm were suppressed for decades.
Health Relevance
PFOA is classified as a possible human carcinogen (IARC Group 2B). Community health studies near DuPont's Parkersburg, West Virginia plant (the C8 Health Project) linked PFOA exposure to kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis, high cholesterol, and pregnancy-induced hypertension.
Regulatory Limits
Drinking Water Directive 2020/2184
0.1 μg/L for sum of PFOA isomers (EU Drinking Water Directive 2020/2184).
Controversy & Contested Science
The DuPont PFOA scandal — dramatised in 'Dark Waters' (2019) — documents decades of concealment of internal toxicology data showing PFOA caused cancer and birth defects. DuPont conducted internal health studies from the 1960s–90s but did not submit findings to regulators. By the time regulatory limits were set in the 2010s, PFOA was present in the blood of virtually every tested American and European. The $670M DuPont settlement (2017) and subsequent regulatory response prompted the EU's 2022 PFAS Restriction Strategy — the most ambitious chemical restriction in EU regulatory history.