Our response to the Government's PFAS Action Plan

Damp Squib of a PFAS Action Plan:

The long-awaited PFAS Action plan was a chance for the UK government to tackle the build-up of these toxic chemicals in the environment, wildlife and people. It could have followed the lead of countries such as Denmark and France, which have already taken steps to reduce PFAS exposure. Instead, the government chose inaction, prioritising monitoring and data collection over measures to stop PFAS pollution at source.

PFAS/Forever Chemicals:

PFAS are a large group of highly persistent synthetic chemicals, often referred to as “forever chemicals”. Exposure in the UK is already widespread: PFAS have been found in supermarket food, drinking water and in people’s blood. Entire generations have grown up polluted with these substances, making action increasingly urgent as research links some PFAS to hormone disruption, immune system damage, liver disease and cancer.

What's The Damage?

These chemicals are also contaminating the UK’s most iconic wildlife including otters, harbour porpoises, freshwater fish and seabirds. Government testing detected PFAS in every harbour porpoise sampled between 2012 and 2014, while another study found PFAS in all 50 otters tested. The cost of cleaning up existing contamination is enormous: the European Commission has estimated that PFAS-related health and clean-up costs could exceed €440 billion by 2050 in Europe. Delaying action in favour of continued monitoring will only increase exposure for people and wildlife, while driving an ever-growing clean-up bill.

What Now?

Last year, UK Youth for Nature Co-hosted a parliamentary reception about PFAS with  CHEM Trust and the Marine Conservation Society. We will be continuing to call on the government to tighten chemical regulation through our Not So Freshwater and Your Wild Streets campaigns. We hope to share some PFAS-specific actions with you soon. In the meantime, please make use of CHEM Trust's online template to ask your MP to write to Minister Emma Hardy MP (head of DEFRA) demanding the UK matches the EU’s protections from PFAS.