PFAQuatic – HU RIZONT

Last modified: 07. January 2025

Project title:
PFAQuatic - Investigating environmental impacts of selected PFAS in surface waters, the aquaculture industry, and waterborne agricultural products

Project ID: 2024-1.2.3-HU-RIZONT-2024-00100

Beneficiary name:
Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE)

Subcontracting partners:

• University of Birmingham, Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, Birmingham, United Kingdom
• Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Ecotoxicology, Leipzig, Germany
• University of Pécs, Clinical Centre, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Pécs, Hungary

Objectives of the project:
Applied research and development project on environmental protection; the main objective is to monitor and investigate the environmental impacts of persistent per- and poly-fluoroalkyl pollutants, so-called PFAs, in surface waters, the aquaculture industry and in aquaculture-derived agricultural products (mainly fish).

Amount of funding granted:  367 162 582 HUF

Project start date: 2025. 01. 01.

Duration of the project: 36 months

Abstract:
Highly persistent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as ’forever chemicals’, are used in various applications despite their largely unknown environmental consequences. These chemicals, prevalent in technologies where waterproofing is a key advantage, are used in producing waterproof clothing, fire-extinguishing materials, plastic additives, or pesticides. The potential risks of these substances are significant, as evidenced by the newly defined thresholds for drinking water in Europe. As a result, a substantial number of PFA substances will need to be measured in all EU countries and in Hungary in the coming years.
There is an urgent need to address the significant lack of knowledge about the PFA substances in angling lakes and intensive fish ponds, which could be affected by treated wastewater. These substances may have a detrimental effect on the quality of fish products. Fish products can be contaminated directly from the surface waters, during processing, or via plastic packaging. Given this lack of knowledge, conducting a comprehensive Hungarian analytical survey of natural and extensively or intensively utilised fish ponds is imperative. To ensure the product line's safety, the fish tissues' PFA content must also be measured. For this reason, a method for PFA analyses in fish tissues (meat and organs) will be developed at MATE. It is also important to fill information gaps about the human and environmental health consequences of these hazardous substances. Therefore, we plan to investigate the „deep toxicity” of some important and widely used PFA compounds using beyond state-of-the-art methods (e.g. automated phenotyping; and single cell toxicology) with the support of our international experts, the University of Birmingham, Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Department of Ecotoxicology. This international collaboration is not just beneficial, but it's crucial, to provide relevant information to stakeholders and decision makers. The proposal also aims to test an innovative method at the lab scale that could be used in water treatment to reduce PFAS pollution and relieve toxic impacts by using sensitised cyclodextrin derivatives as PFAS binders with the collaboration of the University of Pécs, Clinical Centre, Institute of Laboratory Medicine.

The project will run for 36 months, starting 1 January 2025 and running until 31 December 2027.