About PFAS

About per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances - PFAS

PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances), sometimes called highly fluorinated substances, is a large class of chemicals that today may comprise more than 9000 compounds. During the last decade, the exposure and environmental as well as health effects caused by these "forever chemicals" have received increasing attention. This applies in particular to drinking water that has been contaminated at fire training sites. At the same time, PFAS content in other matrices such as food, soil and products has come more into focus. In the same regulation has been broadened and limit values have been lowered. Eurofins offers a wide range of analyses that can be used in the work of identifying this group of chemicals. 

Eurofins (then Analycen) in Lidköping (SE) started analyzing PFAS already at the beginning of the 2000s. After a break, the analysis was set up again in 2015 and since 2016 a large leading PFAS lab has been established. The department consists of about a dozen people who work day and night shifts. Matrices include water, food, biota, solid environmental matrices (e.g. soil, sediment, sludge, waste), fire foam etc. Accreditation is available for a number of methods and specifically the matrices water (clean/unclean), soil and fish/shellfish. A number of foodstuffs, and new matrices are constantly being validated.

We are also proud that the lab in Lidköping in 2023 has become Eurofins European competence centre for PFAS determination in food and feed focusing on method development and quality assurance for these matrices. At the same time, we continue our engagement in the development of PFAS analysis for environmental matrices such as water and soil.