Meet the Montreal chemist who stealthily tests water for PFAS in public places

Université de Montréal chemist Sebastien Sauve goes rogue to test public water sources for PFAS, including in restaurants, parks, and even gas station toilets.

In a “not so clean” gas station bathroom in Maine, Sebastien Sauve was gathering a water sample.

As he puts it, the chemist from the Université de Montréal “goes rogue” to collect his specimens from taps and water fountains in public spaces like parks, restaurants and community centres. He says stealth allows him more freedom in his gathering and data distribution.

“I can actually publish today and be fully transparent because I did not sign any confidentiality agreement,” Sauve told CTV News.

Sauve, who specializes in contamination, and his team are testing tap water for Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). It’s a synthetic chemical that is known as a “forever” material as it doesn’t break down easily.

Health Canada guidelines stipulate there should be no more than 30 nanograms of PFAS per litre in drinking water. Sauve has found communities in Quebec that test over the limit, including some homes in Saint-Cecile-de-Milton, “that was the highest we’ve seen in tap water within Quebec.”

He says a nearby landfill is to blame for elevated levels there. Sauve adds PFAS do pose a risk to human health.

“It’s easier to deny the problem because there’s no acute toxicity for PFAS. It’s really all about long-term effects like cancer, problems with the immune system and thyroid,” he said.

When higher levels are detected, Sauve says he warns municipalities and the Quebec government, but added, “as of today, in Quebec, there are no regulations for PFAS and drinking water and there are no mandatory requirements of any kind to do measurements.”

In March 2024, Sauve presented his work to the federal Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, stating, “The widespread use of PFAS has resulted in water contamination across Canada as a result of poor or virtually no industry regulation.”

He went on to say in the nearly 500 samples collected in Quebec, only two had no trace of PFAS.

“Is it normal that one of my students, working on a research project out of scientific interest, should have identified water pollution problems in La Baie, Val-d’Or and Sainte-Cécile-de-Milton? Depending on the case, the source of contamination may be a military base, a landfill site, an industrial site, or the use of foams containing PFAS in fire drills that were carried out improperly,” he told the committee.

Sauve published work on PFAS starting in 2009. His field work includes analysis following the Lac Megantic rail disaster when firefighters used chemical foams to spray on the fuel-laden train derailment. Sauve says in many cases firefighters themselves are at increased risk because of the protective gear they also wear.

The first Canadian guidelines for the production, use and sale of PFAS were issued in 2012 and the first drinking water guidelines followed in 2018. Sauve says he’s been doing public water sampling for five years and some of the most common areas to find PFAS along the Saint-Lawrence River.

While the levels are elevated, they still fall within Health Canada’s safe threshold.

“Half of Quebec’s population is taking its water from the Saint Lawrence,” Sauve said. “The number of people taking their tap water from that system is huge and that system is contaminated.”