The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is calling on the Government to cut PFAS concentration levels in drinking water tenfold to safeguard public health.as research highlights serious health risks posed by the ‘forever chemicals.’

The UK's leading chemical sciences organisation is calling on the UK Government to overhaul its drinking water standards after a new analysis reveals more than a third of water courses tested in England and Wales contain medium or high-risk levels of PFAS.

The RSC analysis has revealed that 35 and 37 percent of water courses tested in England and Wales contain medium or high-risk levels of PFOS and PFOA respectively, which are types of PFAS (Per-and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances) which would breach the limits for ‘forever chemicals’ as they are more commonly known.

The chemicals are linked to a range of health issues including testicular cancer, fertility issues and developmental defects in unborn children. PFAS are near indestructible in the natural environment or in our bodies.

While they can be filtered out of drinking water, currently the UK water companies are not required by law to reduce them until they are deemed ‘high risk’.

Current standards allow concentrations of each individual PFAS at up to 10 times the level considered ‘low risk’, which is 10ng/L (nanograms per litre).

The chemicals, which have water-, oil-, heat-, and stain-resistant properties, have been used around the world since the 1940s. The chemicals have found their way into the environment and are now omnipresent in soil, ground water, surface water, and the polar ice caps.

Estimates of the number of PFAS vary but may include anywhere from 4,700 to >10,000 substances. According to the RSC, the widespread, growing use and persistence of PFAS has made it difficult to manage these chemicals in the environment and for regulations to keep pace.

The call to clean up PFAS

The RSC is calling for the following five action points from the UK Government:

1. Reduce the current cap per individual type of PFAS 10-fold from 100 nanograms per litre (ng/L) to 10 ng/L of drinking water.

2. Introduce a cap on the total level of PFAS combined of 100ng/L.

3. Ensure the many hundreds of sources of PFAS are reported and captured in a national inventory.

4. Impose and enforce stricter regulatory limits on allowable levels of PFAS in industrial discharges.

5. Set up a national chemicals regulator to provide better strategic coordination of monitoring and regulation of all chemicals including PFAS.

A detailed position statement published by the RSC includes the following key asks of the UK water sector:

• Greater collaboration is needed across the water sector to harmonise and standardise measurement approaches, generate and publish PFAS in drinking water monitoring data across UK, and develop improved remediation solutions to meet stricter action standards for PFAS in drinking water. Sector bodies could help coordinate this effort.
• Ensure that, as far as possible, the pollutor pays for the delivery of wholesome water. Based on evidence relating to sources of PFAS use in the UK, the use of PFAS is widespread across virtually all production sectors.
• The chemicals and related industries, water sector, and government should work together to provide a fair funding system so that polluters, rather than water consumers, pay for the monitoring and remediation activities required to meet new standards.

The RSC says that to prioritise the minimisation of human exposure in the short term, regulators should first focus on investigating the evidence for the most common sources of and pathways to direct oral exposure to PFAS.

The policy position statement is focussed on contaminated drinking water as the most risky route of exposure to PFAS in the general population and sets out regulatory options that could improve management of PFAS in the environment.

Evidence for PFAS in UK waters and in UK drinking water

The position statement says that following presentations at an RSC expert-led event on PFAS in water in November 2022, and the RSC’s independent research, there is “clear evidence” to show that PFAS are present in UK surface and groundwaters.

Data from the Environment Agency also indicate that there is “widespread PFAS presence in water in the UK.” The EA has been conducting fully quantitative assessments of the levels of the two PFAS most known to be toxic and persistent, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), from ~500 sites across England. The Agency concludes that “the PFAS problem appears widespread”, with examples of hotspots.

“Current UK chemical regulations post EU-exit are not fit for purpose" 

According to the RSC, there is “broad agreement that PFAS contamination of water is a growing and unchecked problem in the UK.”

Commenting on the current UK regulatory context, the statement says:

“Current UK chemical regulations post EU-exit are not fit for the purpose of managing PFAS in the environment. Regulatory accountability for PFAS use in products, processes, and waste management is fragmented across government departments. To provide a holistic and consistent approach for widereaching topics such as PFAS pollution, the government would benefit from a national overarching regulator for chemicals management, such as a Chemicals Agency, that brings greater cohesiveness and connectivity across government departments.”

Policy options for the management of PFAS in UK drinking water set out in the position statement include:

Identify the sources of PFAS in the UK: Require companies that manufacture or use PFAS to submit data to a central and public database (PFAS national inventory).

Understand the pathways of how PFAS gets into water:

Require companies that manufacture or use PFAS to test their discharges for PFAS contamination.

Introduce and enforce stricter emissions standards for PFAS in industrial emissions to water and landfill leachates.

Designate PFAS as a class of priority substances of concern for water companies.

Water companies are tasked with monitoring and remediating many other existing contaminants, often resulting in limited resources to address PFAS. Formally designating PFAS as a class of priority substances will provide justification for the further expansion of monitoring capacity, method accreditation, and remediation efforts.

Clarify testing methods for individual PFAS and expand the suite of testing to include more general screening for total PFAS.

Ensure the consumer(receptor)is not exposed to PFAS via drinking water:

Re-evaluate the current guideline values for PFAS in drinking water in line with the latest science and international precedent, and implement statutory action standards for water companies

Require water treatment plants to have adequate remediation technology in order to meet new statutory standards.

"Conventional water treatment systems not always equipped to remove PFAS effectively"

According to the RSC, conventional water treatment systems are not always equipped to remove PFAS effectively, nor is it proven that existing strategies are effective. Commonly used methods for filtering PFAS out of drinking water supplies include activated carbon, ion exchange, and membrane filtration, which result in PFAS-laden waste that must be treated or disposed of without re-releasing PFAS into the environment.

It also cautions that PFAS-containing sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants is often spread on land or transferred to landfill, where PFAS are re-released into the environment.

The RSC says that currently there is also limited available information to judge their effectiveness and cost in water treatment facilities, and further information is urgently needed.

The position paper states:

“Within a reasonable timeframe, water treatment plants should be required to have technology in place that can adequately remediate water to the lowest levels defined by new statutory standards. It is understood from our research that new technologies are available for this purpose; however, concern remains about the cost of implementation, especially as water companies are being made to address a problem that stems from outside sources.

“Companies should also prepare plans for the management and appropriate disposal of filter or other wastes that may contain concentrated PFAS, in order to lessen the risk of PFAS re-entering the environment.”

Click here to download the position statement in full