The true cost of 'forever chemicals': Continued use of toxic PFAS could cost Europe £1.4 TRILLION by 2050, study predicts
Toxic 'forever chemicals' could cost Europe £1.4 trillion ($2 trillion) by 2050, a study has claimed.
Per– and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of over 10,000 chemicals found in everything from non–stick pans and waterproof jackets to firefighting foams and cleaning products.
These chemicals have been linked to a wide range of devastating health conditions, including pregnancy complications, liver damage, and several kinds of cancer.
Now, an EU–commissioned report suggests that banning PFAS today could save Europe billions in the long run.
In a business–as–usual scenario, the health and environmental impacts are expected to cost Europe about £381 billion ($521 billion) by the middle of the century.
Yearly health costs already stand at £34 billion ($46.9 billion) every year, with no hope of cutting these bills without a ban.
However, the report describes this enormous bill as simply the 'baseline' costs of continuing to use PFAS.
If Europe tries to treat polluted soil and water without banning PFAS, the costs will balloon to well over £1 trillion.
The cost of using 'forever chemicals' could cost Europe £1.4 trillion ($2 trillion) by 2050, a study has claimed. This graph shows the health costs of forever chemicals, in scenarios ranging from 'business as usual' (scenario 1) to a total ban (scenario 4)
PFAS get their nickname of 'forever chemicals' from the fact that they take hundreds, or even thousands of years to break down.
This means that the small amounts that leech into waterways, soil, and our bodies build up over time to reach toxic levels.
Thanks to their ability to repel heat, oil, and water, PFAS have become critical to a wide number of products that you use every day.
As a result, there has been a great deal of reluctance to ban these chemicals, due to the potential economic consequences.
However, the study, conducted by the consultancies WSP, Ricardo, and Trinomics, now suggests that phasing out PFAS could actually save Europe billions.
If the EU passed a ban on forever chemicals, the yearly cost of treating health issues caused by these pollutants would fall to £433 million ($593 million) by 2040.
By the year 2050, that would lead to overall savings of over £95 billion ($130 billion).
Compared to the costs of trying to clean up Europe's soil and water while more forever chemicals continue to be used, the savings could be even larger.
This graph shows the number of healthy life years lost due to PFAS in Europe. Scenario 1 shows 'business as usual', Scenario 2 shows compliance with the current Drinking Water Directive rules, Scenario 3 shows compliance with proposed stricter standards, and Scenario 4 shows a total ban of PFAS
Jessika Roswall, EU environment chief, says: 'The study confirms that addressing PFAS at their source is both crucial and economically wise.
'Balancing economic interest with nature and health costs is vital.'
If a ban on forever chemicals was introduced today, it could still take hundreds of years for levels in the environment to return to safe levels because of how slowly they break down.
This means the economic costs are not expected to reduce to zero for the foreseeable future.
Previous research has shown that 98 per cent of UK rivers are contaminated with harmful forever chemicals.
Researchers analysed samples from 32 rivers across the UK's four nations and found traces of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in 31 of them.
TFA is a type of PFAS thought to damage fertility and child development, and some experts want it to be classed as toxic for reproduction.
The River Kelvin, in Glasgow, had a TFA concentration of 78,464ng (nanograms) per litre – the second–highest TFA river contamination ever recorded globally.
Forever chemicals thought to damage fertility have been found in 98 per cent of rivers in the UK. The River Kelvin, in Glasgow (pictured), had the highest concentration of TFA levels in the UK
Last year, an Italian court sentenced executives at a chemical plant to jail terms of up to 17 years for polluting water used by hundreds of thousands of people with the chemicals.
However, progress towards a ban has been sluggish both in the EU and the UK.
EU lawmakers are preparing to propose a ban later this year, but strong pushback is expected.
Even with carve–outs for 'critical sectors', industry bodies and some political groups are likely to oppose the ban, meaning it may not be passed by the end of this year if at all.
The UK is yet to propose banning the chemicals, despite ordering water companies to tackle harmful levels of PFAS in drinking water last year.
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