UK launches plan to tackle 'forever chemicals' amid growing concerns

The UK is to increase testing for so-called "forever chemicals" in the environment as part of a national plan to tackle the substances, which have prompted environmental and health concerns.

The group of chemicals, also known as PFAS, are used in many everyday products because of their oil resistant and waterproof properties.

But scientists are concerned because their chemical structures mean they accumulate and remain in the environment, with a small number of PFAS known to be toxic.

The government says that by 2029 it wants to align more closely with regulations issued by the EU, which is looking to prohibit all non-essential uses.

Some environmental groups and the water industry have urged the government to act more quickly in banning the chemicals.

But new regulations currently take around five years to put in place, and the Chemicals Industries Association has said there are some critical industries such as hydrogen production where there are few alternatives.

Forever chemicals are "one of the most pressing chemical challenges of our time," Environment Minister Emma Hardy said as she launched the plan.

"It's crucial that we protect both public health and the environment for future generations. Through our PFAS Plan, we will act decisively to reduce their harmful effects while transitioning to safer alternatives," she said.

The plan centres around three key aims:

• increasing knowledge of where the most harmful PFAS are turning up
• understand how their use in everyday products can be reduced
• work with industry to look for alternatives

The number of water samples tested for PFAS will be increased by 50% across Scotland and Wales, whilst animals in coastal areas of England and soils in five priority areas will be tested to identify hotspots.

PFAS are now ubiquitous in our everyday lives, used for example in school uniforms, medication casings and hydrogen production. Their incredibly strong chemical bonds give them properties which industries find very useful, such as being water-and oil-resistant, and they are also cheap to manufacture.

But Dr Liz Chadwick, senior lecturer in biosciences at Cardiff University, said the chemicals leak out into the environment from manufacturing, washing our clothes or products with PFAS, as well as from the spread of waste sludge from water treatment works onto agricultural fields.

"PFAS are very persistent in the environment, they are also bioaccumulative and they are also known to be toxic, those three things together gives our rise for concern about chemicals in the environment," said

Other household products they can be found in include cosmetics, baking equipment and frying pans, dishwasher rinse aid and polish.

As well as more testing, the government also wants to raise public awareness by launching a website dedicated to information on the chemicals.

The plan has been broadly welcomed by environmental charities and scientists but there is disagreement about whether further research is needed before restrictions are put in place.

"More research, more monitoring is important, but that should not come before regulating them at the source. We should not be waiting for people to start showing adverse impacts before we take action," said Dr Shubhi Sharma, scientific researcher at environmental charity Chem Trust.

She said the government should take a "precautionary principle" approach, where the use of a chemical is stopped if the potential harm could outweigh the benefits - considering the emerging risks of some PFAS.

Earlier this year the World Health Organization raised significant concerns, about two specific PFAS. It classified PFOA as carcinogenic, and PFOS as possibly carcinogenic - increasing the risk of thyroid, testicular and kidney cancers. Both substances are already banned in the UK.

Dr Hannah Moody, Director of Research and Engagement at Breast Cancer UK, said the government plan was a step forward, but "the work is not complete on this, and we will continue to lobby for tighter and more stringent regulation of endocrine disrupting chemicals that are linked to possibly increasing breast cancer risk for the entire UK population."

Although the new plan does not include a commitment to banning PFAS, the government has said the UK will "more closely align" by December 2028 with EU regulations. The EU is proposing a universal ban on the chemicals unless they are proven essential for society.

Closer alignment could speed up future regulation of PFAS, said Stephanie Metzger, policy adviser at the Royal Society of Chemistry.

"Our regulators after Brexit have been overwhelmed and busy with adapting to the changes that Brexit has caused, and so it means that doing this sort of in-depth work has often been pushed back. And so I think this is a really positive step," she said.

Some manufacturers have already gone PFAS-free. But doing so is expensive, said Debbie Reed at Equip Outdoor Technologies, which owns outdoor brands Rab and Lowe Alpine.

"It's challenging as our supply chains are complex, in an insulating jacket there are 120 components. To make sure the products are PFAS-free we have to make sure the entire production line is cleaned," she said.

This was a position echoed by Jun Kamei, CEO of Amphico, a company developing toxic-free textiles.

"PFAS [are] a very functional, versatile chemistry so replacing them is a lot of hard work from a technical perspective," he told the BBC at a Mills Fabrica exhibit for PFAS-free designers. "It has taken us 7 years - but a hard problem worth tackling."

Instead of relying on voluntary phase-out, the water industry thinks the government should go much further and ban the chemicals completely.

Currently water companies have to regularly test for the 48 most concerning PFAS and where levels are elevated, treat the water supply. This is a costly endeavour and something the industry says it should not be responsible for.

"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," said a spokesperson for industry body Water UK.

But the Chemical Industries Association pushed back and said that while it was working to find alternatives to PFAS, this is not a quick process.

"Finding suitable and viable alternatives that are environmentally better and provide the needed performance is a challenging task, often needing innovators to return to the drawing board in search of a potential replacement," said the trade body's spokesperson.

Additional reporting Becki Bowden and Tom Ingham.