EAC criticises PFAS monitoring plan and calls for prevention and remediation

(by Karma Loveday)

The Government should urgently restrict non-essential uses of PFAS, as well as enforce a polluter pays clean-up policy for remediation and invest in forever chemical destruction technologies. That’s according to the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), in a new report: Addressing the risks from Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).

The Committee concluded the Government’s new PFAS Plan disproportionately focuses on expanding PFAS monitoring, rather than preventing or remediating contamination. It said that applying the Government’s own environmental principles demands decisive action now to limit further release and exposure – through preventative and precautionary action.

EAC chair Toby Perkins said of the Government’s current PFAS Plan: “It appears to be a plan to eventually have a plan, rather than a concrete set of commitments to reduce and remediate PFAS. We do not need to panic, but we do need to take sensible precautions… The Government has all the information it needs to get PFAS out of the environment and deter future pollution. Waiting will only make the problem worse. Now is the time to act.”

The report recommended the Government must:

• Spell out in its response how its approach to PFAS has been developed with due regard to the precautionary principle within the Environmental Principles Policy Statement. 

• Support UK alignment with EU REACH, and reform UK REACH by March 2027 to avoid any further delay in restricting PFAS. The Government should set targets at half the statutory maximum timescales and ensure that the Health and Safety Executive has the resources to meet these accelerated timelines.

• Adopt an essential-use approach to regulating PFAS, prioritising the rapid restriction of PFAS in non-essential applications. Clearly defined exemptions should be set for essential uses, with time-limited derogations where substitutes are still being developed. 

• Take a group-based approach to PFAS regulation within three months of the EU’s forthcoming assessment. This should include assessing options for grouping PFAS with similar structures, so that future restrictions can be applied more swiftly and effectively as new evidence emerges. 

• Consult on the establishment of an industry-funded mechanism to rapidly assess the properties and risks of newly developed PFAS before they are permitted for use, and invest in the development of safer alternatives. Proposals should be published within 12 months of the publication of this report. 

• Invest in long-term research on the health effects of PFAS exposure in the UK population and contribute to the global evidence base. 

• Set limits on the levels and types of PFAS permitted in food, giving producers, retailers, and regulators a consistent basis for protecting public health. This will build on work already begun on setting statutory limits for PFAS in drinking water.

• Introduce interim limits on PFAS levels in consumer products, and require standardised labelling to ensure consumers are fully informed. Implementation should take effect within six months and remain in place until PFAS are restricted in non-essential consumer goods. 

• Consult on mandatory PFAS disclosures across supply chains within six months.

• Apply the polluter pays principle to prevent ongoing and historic PFAS contamination and consult by March 2027 on establishing a national PFAS Remediation Fund. This should be overseen and enforced by an adequately skilled and resourced Environment Agency.

• Support the development and deployment of scalable, cost-effective PFAS remediation technologies by directing investment through UK Research and Innovation into research, innovation and practical support. 

• Publish formally approved guidance for PFAS remediation to provide businesses, local authorities and regulators with the certainty needed to deliver timely, safe and effective remediation. 

• Assess the volume of PFAS containing waste expected from forthcoming restrictions and determine whether UK high-temperature incineration capacity is sufficient; and commit, within six months, to funding the research and development of non-incineration PFAS destruction technologies through UK Research and Innovation and Innovate UK.