Eurofins’ presentations at the Environtec exhibition
Eurofins’ presentations at the Environtec exhibition
Why is it important to study "everlasting" compounds and microplastics?
Eurofins Analytical Services Hungary Kft. participated both as exhibitor and speaker at one of the most important events of Hungarian environmental protection and environmental industry, the ENVIRONTEC (formerly ÖKOINDUSTRIA) trade fair in October 2024. Our laboratory presented its environmental analytical services at its own booth and our experts gave two presentations on current issues at the prestigious event organized at the HUNGEXPO Budapest Congress and Exhibition Centre.
Our expert colleagues were happy to provide information to all people interested in our laboratory’s services and our latest research results.
Zoltán Palotai, executive manager of our company, said that the compounds called "everlasting" (of which there are now 12,000) were created with good intentions because they were useful and quickly became indispensable. However, over time it has become clear that they also pose various environmental and health risks and dangers, and it is exactly their resistance to everything that is now a major problem.
Over time, it has become clear that the everlasting substances also pose various environmental and health risks and dangers," said Zoltán Palotai.
Although steps have already been taken to reduce the amounts of these substances in our environment, we are still only scratching the tip of the iceberg. It may be a small exaggeration, but in some northern countries of the European Union, one can win an election with a successful campaign aimed at reducing the use of PFAS compounds, but in most parts of the world there is almost no regulation related to this problem.
It is also difficult to phase out these compounds, as they are indeed indispensable in many areas, for example as flame retardants, for which there is an extremely long list of exceptions.
What is the problem with them? They are capable of disrupting the hormonal balance, causing abnormal development, tumors, loss of concentration, retardation of developmental processes, upsetting our thyroid function.
What are these compounds? Natural or artificial hormones, toxins from fungi, drugs, heavy metals, phthalates (plasticizers). The European Water Framework Directive specifically mentions one of the most notorious of these hormone-disrupting compounds: bisphenol A (BpA), a molecule that has been around since 1891, is typically used in polycarbonates (baby bottles, microwaveable plastic dishes, water dispenser balloons), and 10 million tonnes of this substance was produced worldwide in 2022.
This also means that it will continue to be present in our environment for a long time to come, which is why accredited testing laboratories have an extremely important role to play, as science and legal and regulatory authorities can only take effective action against these substances if they have been measured accurately.
Dr. Gábor Bordós, Head of the Microplastics Testing Laboratory of Eurofins Analytical Services Hungary Kft., spoke about an equally important environmental challenge. He said that the most important challenge currently facing microplastics research is the lack of a common methodology for comparing measured values.
Dr. Gábor Bordós said that the most important challenge in the field of microplastics research is the lack of a common methodology for comparing measured values.
At the EU level, the preparation of legislation related to the Drinking Water Framework Directive has already started, but it would be important to standardize the tests for proper regulation, a generally applicable methodology is sorely needed.
Gábor Bordós also talked about the sampling of microplastics: in addition to the plankton net, which is widely used all over the world, Eurofins in Hungary uses a proprietary method (using a pump and a coupled filtration system) to sample surface water (and even seawater, wastewater and water utility networks) very efficiently, and after sample preparation, the number of tiny plastic particles is determined by optical and chemical identification (FTIR microscopy).
This is how the latest PET Cup measurement was carried out: during the globally unique environmental initiative, more than 200 microplastic particles per cubic meter were found in the Bodrog River.
The vast majority of the samples (80%) were polyethylene, which is not surprising as it is typically single-use plastics that are made of polyethylene.
In addition to information from our expert colleagues, visitors to our booth were also able to look through a microscope used in the laboratory to "admire" the microplastics freshly recovered from our surface waters.
The microscope at the Eurofins booth was in working order, of course, and anyone who looked into it could see the tiny plastic particles.