THERE IS SOMETHING IN THE WATER

RASMUS H. BREUM

On the west coast of Jutland, they are used to the roar of the waves just beyond the dunes. They are used to watching the sun set into the endless sea. They are used to using the nature on their doorstep as a sanctuary and pantry, for grazing and hunting, but now an invisible threat has forced them to deal with nature in a new way.

In spring 2022, high levels of toxic PFAS substances were found at an abandoned landfill south of Thyborøn. The substances are suspected of having serious health consequences and have since been found in groundwater, surface water, grass, soil, animals and sea foam along the entire west coast. In particular, the findings in the light, fine sea foam attracted attention when PFAS concentrations up to 3000 times higher than the Danish Environmental Protection Agency’s guideline value for bathing water were measured.

Can the winter bathers enjoy an ice-cold dip knowing there is more than just salt in the water? How long can we continue to drink our water directly from the ground? And what does the farmer do when the cows cannot be slaughtered and sold?

The Sea Foam

Anyone living near the North Sea knows that a good windy day brings large collections of airy sea foam on wave tops, on the beach and in the air. However, the new knowledge is that despite its innocent appearance, the sea foam contains very high concentrations of PFAS - much higher than the water, sand and grass it has been found near.

The physico-chemical properties of PFAS mean that they are best found at the interface between air and water. Where PFAS is found in seawater, concentrations are lowest in subsurface water, higher at the surface and highest in the airy sea foam, which has plenty of surface area for the substances to settle.

Once the sea foam is formed and filled with PFAS, the wind does not stop. It blows on and carries the foam as small particles over the dunes and into meadows and fields, where it settles and is absorbed by the soil and grass.

PFAS is not acutely toxic like fly agarics and rat poison, but because it can accumulate in the body over a long period of time, it can have a number of health consequences.

Several studies show that high levels of PFAS in the body can result in a weakened immune system and an increased risk of cancer, among other things. However, there is still a lot of uncertainty about the health effects, which is why many research projects are underway that will shed more light on the matter in the coming years.

The Farmer

Between ocean and fjord, along dunes and lakes, the cows are part of the nature management that promotes varied living conditions for flora and fauna. But in the fall of 2022, PFAS was found in both grass and cattle on Agger Tange, and farmer Thyge Futtrup is therefore not allowed to slaughter the animals until the levels of the harmful substances are down to the permitted level - probably after a year and a half.

“To be honest, they should have been shot when we got that message. It would have been much cheaper for us,” says Thyge Futtrup. Right now, the cows are just an expense with no chance of making money for the farmer in the near future.

“We want to be able to run this farm so we can make a little profit - so it’s no good we lose money because someone accidentally spilled some PFAS out there into the nature.”

The Winter Swimmers

Even though the wind speed has reached 13 meters per second, the cold water is almost completely flat when the eight morning swimmers arrive at the beach with hats, gloves and bathing shoes. There is always someone ready to swim when someone asks in the Facebook group.

69-year-old Maja Hestbech winter swims because she feels balanced - indeed, all problems vanish into thin air when she sinks into the cool sea water. And when the ‘PFAS’ issue hit the media, she remembers having to stop and investigate what it meant.

“For me, it was a trade-off between the quality of life I get from winter swimming and the potential small health risk PFAS poses. It was not a difficult choice,” says Maja Hestbech. “If you have to stop doing everything that involves a risk, you can’t do anything in this world.”

The Environmentalist

He actually retired in 2015 after a working life that included titles such as fisherman, local politician and social worker. Nevertheless, 72-year-old Bjarne Hansen is now a full-time environmentalist. His father, Aage Hansen, also known as RavAage, is recognized as Denmark’s first environmental activist, when he fought against the chemical factory Cheminova’s pollution on Harboøre Tange and in the sea in the 1950s. It is this battle Bjarne Hansen continues to fight today, and now PFAS has also appeared on his radar.

“My theory is that the PFAS comes from the old pollution that exists where the factory is located today,” he says.

And there may be something to that. In the summer of 2022, three samples of the treated wastewater discharged by Cheminova into the North Sea showed PFAS in concentrations up to 14 times higher than the Danish groundwater quality standard and 318 times higher than a groundwater quality standard the EU is working on.

“They clean some of it away and discharge the remaining wastewater into the North Sea, where it can be diluted. That’s the thinking. And then they can’t understand that it flies right back in their faces with the sea foam when it is windy.”