The NGO Générations Futures issued a warning Wednesday about drinking water contamination in the Hauts-de-France region by fluopyram, a fungicide used in agriculture. According to the organization, 17 drinking water distribution units supplying 46 municipalities in the Pas-de-Calais, Nord, and Somme departments are affected, with more than 83,000 residents exposed to water deemed "non-compliant" for several months, and even for more than a year in some areas.
Health authorities have confirmed the presence of traces of the product, while clarifying the extent of the contamination. In a joint statement, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Hauts-de-France and the prefectures of Nord and Pas-de-Calais indicated that tests have detected fluopyram in 23 municipalities in Pas-de-Calais and three municipalities in Nord. They specified that no municipalities in the Somme department are affected by exceedances and that a water intake mentioned by the NGO is no longer used for drinking water supply.
Exceedances of the quality limit, but no ban on consumption
The measured concentrations exceed the regulatory limit for water quality set at 0,1 µg/L, according to data compiled by Générations Futures via the website dansmoneau.fr. The NGO claims that, in two municipalities, the levels are more than ten times this limit. Despite this, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) assures residents that they can continue to drink tap water, noting that the health impact of fluopyram, considered an "emerging pollutant," has not yet been established.
The Regional Health Agency (ARS) also points out that, according to a 2013 EFSA assessment, the substance showed no genotoxic potential, no effects on fertility, and no teratogenic or neurotoxic risks, and that it is not classified as a known carcinogen. No maximum safe consumption level (Vmax) has yet been defined for this fungicide in water, even though the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) has been asked to propose a safe consumption guideline.
Générations Futures points out, however, that in the absence of a Vmax (maximum exposure limit), the Directorate General of Health generally recommends restricting consumption at levels as low as 0,1 µg/L, a threshold raised to 0,142 µg/L at the beginning of 2025 by the High Council for Public Health. The NGO estimates that this level is exceeded in 10 distribution outlets, affecting 30 municipalities and more than 10,000 people, and calls for a reassessment of authorizations for products containing fluopyram, which it links to the PFAS family and to degradation into TFA (transient fatty acids), a "perpetual pollutant."
