Microplastics and “eternal” materials in our waters
The achievements of Eurofins Analytical Services on the World Water Day!
Microplastics are to be found everywhere: in seawater, in inland surface waters, in wastewater and even in the air. It is through methodology developments and a series of research projects that independent laboratory Eurofins Analytical Services Hungary Kft. contributes to making their professional measurement and the international efforts aimed at tackling the problem as efficient and as effective as possible. The so-called PFAS compounds last practically forever: they have awesome characteristics for industry but when they were developed it was not clear that they would pose a major hazard to the environment, our waters, and even human health. Eurofins Analytical Services is actively engaged in this field as well. Our brief summary is has been prepared to draw attention on the occasion of the World Water Day to these two severe environmental hazards.
One of the most important tasks of the independent laboratory Eurofins Analytical Services Hungary Kft., operating as the legal successor of WESSLING Hungary Kft. is to promote environmental protection (in addition to testing food products and medicines). With our more than 30 years of experience based on of producing millions of test results we have already made major efforts towards the protection of waters, for example, through our tests of surface and underground waters, soil water, our accredited wastewater tests, our participation in recultivation projects as well as methodology development projects such as those aimed at detecting pesticides or drug residues in waters. On the occasion of this year’s World Water Day we wish to draw attention to two important areas which posing a specific type of very severe environmental challenge to humankind, though in two different ways.
Microplastics in the oceans, in rivers and in wastewaters
One of the most recent and highly exciting research project called Deep Sea, which took place in the Mediterranean sea revealed that microplastics sized below 1 mm are present in a higher density in deeper layers (6-10 m) than in the surface layer. The surprising findings of the research carried out near Malta have just recently been published by the managers of the project. Dr. Gábor Bordós – project manager of the test laboratory Eurofins Analytical Services Hungary Kft. – who was part of the international team said that the massive presence of microplastics in deeper layers of the sea may be a result of a change in the density of the particles, that is, their contamination.
During its research projects Eurofins Analytical Services has already gathered lots of experience regarding microplastics in Hungary as well: one of its research projects was commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during which it was found that microplastics are present in our raw wastewaters, in samples of treated waste water and in surface water samples in concentrations of 800-4400 particles/m3, 12-85 particles/m3, and 9-28 particles/m3, respectively These findings show that although wastewater treatment plants remove the bulk of the particles, yet wastewater may be one of the sources of microplastics in surface waters.
One of the most important findings of a series of tests we conducted in the context of our earlier social responsibility project called Tiny Plastic Puzzle was that Of Hungary’s rivers we analysed so far the largest amount of microplastics was found in the River Danube: 50 particles per m3.
We also participate in a considerable number of other research projects as well, including, for instance testing the air and waters for microplastics RISK MP project), in the course of which we are developing increasingly accurate methods and gather important data – we also publish our results in internationally recognised journals and in presentations at conferences.
Eternal compounds in waters and the environment
The issue of per- and polyfluorinated substances is a highly topical environmental challenge. This “super substance” used everywhere from clothing to hand creams to packaging materials to fire extinguishing equipment can be potentially carcinogenic.
“The so-called PFAS compounds are present in the environment, including our waters (EU regulations make testing for them a mandatory from 2026) and pose a growing challenge regarding food safety as well” – said Zoltán Palotai, head of the Environmental Division of Eurofins Analytical Services Hungary Kft.
“All too often the chemical industry invents something great (these compounds are, for instance, both water and oil resistant) and then in many cases it is only a few decades later that they may also be harmful to the environment or human health. The most well-known examples include the insecticide DDT and the herbicide glyphosate: DDT has already been banned (three decades after its introduction), while glyphosate is still the subject of heated professional debates, yet both of these are here with us.
This is the very reason why the measuring of perfluorinated compounds has become crucially important. Eurofins Analytical Services Hungary Kft. has developed highly practical analytical techniques by combining liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry, with which it is now performing such tests routinely on samples from waters, foodstuffs and packaging materials alike.