‘Forever chemicals’ in drinking water could be reduced under new government plans

The government has unveiled its first-ever strategy to tackle “forever chemicals”, proposing legal limits in drinking water.

These chemicals, known as PFAs, are used widely in everyday items such as non-stick pans, firefighting foams, pesticides, medical devices and wind turbines.

They can take centuries to degrade, accumulating in living organisms and posing risks to both people and planet.

Recent government monitoring detected PFAs’ presence in approximately 80 per cent of surface water, half of groundwater, and all fish samples.

Published on Tuesday, the new plan outlines steps for government bodies, businesses, and regulators to better understand how PFAs enter and spread, aiming to minimise public and ecological exposure.

However, campaigners criticised the strategy for not banning all PFAs manufacturing and use, as the European Union has committed to doing.

A key proposal is a forthcoming consultation, later this year, on establishing a statutory limit for PFAs in England’s public water supply.

Ministers insist the UK already has one of the highest quality drinking water supplies in the world, and water companies must report when PFAs concentrations exceed a certain level under guidance from regulators.

But a legal limit would mean regulators can more easily take enforcement action against firms where permitted levels are exceeded.

More widely, the government said it will take a “science-based and proportionate approach” to managing risks around PFAs.

“The transition away from PFAs will take time, as will putting new regulations in place, and the trade-offs applying to new regulatory measures need to be carefully considered,” the plan noted.

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“We must balance ensuring that measures protect people and wildlife while recognising the potential negative impacts on society, consumers and industry.”

Under the plans, the Environment Agency will commission research to fill critical evidence gaps on the impact of PFAs on ecosystems and wildlife.

The full extent of forever chemicals in England’s estuaries and coastal waters will be assessed, with improved testing and monitoring of sediment and invertebrates helping to provide regulators with a clearer picture of the risks to these habitats.

Environment minister Emma Hardy said: “The persistent nature of forever chemicals means they pose a long-term challenge for not only our health, but that of the nation’s vital ecosystems.

“Through our PFAs Plan, we will act decisively to reduce their harmful effects while transitioning to safer alternatives.

“We will work in partnership with regulators, industry and local communities to deliver coordinated action to ensure forever chemicals are not a forever problem.”

Among the other measures outlined in the plan are ambitions for developing safer alternatives to everyday items that use PFAs, such as waterproof clothing and period pads and working with businesses to explore how production methods could be changed to produce new PFAs-free products.

The government said tests will also be carried out on food packaging, like microwave popcorn bags and pizza boxes, and a website will be published to raise public awareness.

However, green groups criticised the plan as “crushingly disappointing” with no binding phase-outs in manufacturing, no timetable for ending everyday uses and no commitment to match the EU’s ban on the use and manufacture of all PFAs.

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Chloe Alexander, chemicals policy lead at Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “This plan is a roadmap to nowhere for one of the most serious pollution threats facing nature and public health.

“After years of warnings about the harms of PFAs, the government has produced a crushingly disappointing framework that ducks the hard decisions and kicks action into the long grass.

“The roadmap leaves nature and consumers exposed to forever chemicals at the expense of environmental and human health, does nothing to make polluters pay, and lets the UK drift even further behind other countries.”

Nick Mole, UK policy manager at Pesticides Action Network UK, welcomed the publication of the plan but said the group is “disappointed by the glaring omission of any reference to tackling the issue of PFAs pesticides”.

Citing UK government testing previously finding pesticide residues in a number of food items, he said: “PFAs pesticides are a source of both environmental and dietary exposure to these harmful chemicals.

“Leaving them out of the PFAs plan is a huge misstep that we hope will be rectified in due course to ensure that the plan is as comprehensive as possible in terms of protecting the environment and the public.”

A Water UK spokesperson, which represents the industry, said: “While this is a useful first step, the government needs to go much further.

“The problem with PFAs will only get worse until chemical companies are forced to stop their manufacture and sale and clean up the mess they’ve already created.

“We’ve long called for a ban on PFAs and, without stronger action, we risk falling further behind other European nations which are increasingly banning these substances and demanding manufacturers pay for clean up.”