‘Forever chemicals’ mean England’s waters will miss pollution targets for decades

By Helena Horton and Sandra Laville | The Guardian | February 24, 2023

Read the full article by Helena Horton and Sandra Laville (The Guardian)

“The government is investigating and mapping out the sources of dangerous ‘forever chemicals’ present in our waterways.

But England will not meet its targets for waterways having good chemical status by 2027, the government admits, in part because of the PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in our rivers.

Officials admit there is no way for them to remove PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), some of which are classified as uPBT (ubiquitous, persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic) substances.

The chemicals do not break down in the environment, build up in the body and may be toxic. They form a family of about 10,000 chemicals valued for their non-stick and detergent properties."

This content provided by the PFAS Project.