Draft drinking water regulation: PFAS, bisphenol A and lower metal limits
A draft regulation of the Polish health ministry implements the EU drinking water directive. Sum of PFAS, bisphenol A, microcystin-LR and haloacetic acids join the parameter list, while limits for lead and chromium are halved.
- The new chemical parameters are the sum of PFAS at 0.10 µg/l covering twenty substances, bisphenol A at 2.5 µg/l, microcystin-LR at 1.0 µg/l, haloacetic acids at 60 µg/l, chlorates and uranium at 30 µg/l.
- The limit for lead falls from 10 to 5 µg/l and for chromium from 50 to 25 µg/l — the target values apply from 12 January 2036.
- Legionella becomes a risk-assessment parameter in internal hot water systems: below 1,000 cfu/l, and below 50 cfu/l in buildings with immunocompromised patients, together with a requirement of at least 55 °C at the tap.
- A method must be able to measure at a limit of quantification no worse than 30% of the parametric value; for the sum of PFAS and for bisphenol A a measurement uncertainty of up to 50% is allowed.
- PN-EN ISO standards remain the reference methods, with alternative and molecular techniques permitted, including qPCR for microbiological determinations.
- Sampling frequency depends on the volume of water in the supply zone, and parameters are split into a core group and the rest.
- The regulation will replace the act of 7 December 2017. On the date of this note it was still a draft. UPDATE of 11 September 2026: the regulation was published on 22 May 2026 as Journal of Laws 2026 item 748 and has been in force since 24 June 2026; the 2017 act is repealed.