The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee will hold the first evidence session of its inquiry into Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) – also known as ‘forever chemicals’ on Wednesday 25 June.

The Committee launched the inquiry to consider PFAS, a family of more than 14,000 man-made chemicals,  in April with a call for written submissions by 26 May 2025 addressing on any or all of the issues raised in the inquiry’s terms of reference.

The MPs are considering whether enough is being done to understand fully the risks of PFAS in the UK and whether research institutions and the Environment Agency are equipped to monitor their impact.

The Committee will also examine the UK’s regulatory framework for the use and disposal of PFAS, and will be asking whether UK registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals is adequate. The inquiry will also compare the UK approach to other jurisdictions around the world, such as the European Union and the United States of America.

The EU is currently seeking to regulate PFAS as an entire class of chemicals and allow them to be used only when proven essential, while the Canadian government is assessing fluoropolymers – one subgroup of chemicals – as distinct from PFAS, due to different exposure and hazard profiles.

MPs are likely to ask witnesses appearing before them on Wednesday which industries rely on PFAS, how feasible it is to find genuine alternatives and whether PFAS should be regulated collectively as a single class of chemicals.

The session is also likely to cover PFAS exposure in the UK and how exposure is mapped and monitored and whether deprived communities are more at risk.

Witnesses appearing before the EAC are as follows:

From 14.30:

Linsey Cottrell, Environmental Policy Officer, Conflict and Environment Observatory

Dr Joanna Cloy, Senior Projects Manager, Fidra

Professor Michael Depledge, Emeritus Professor, European Centre for Environment and Human Health

From 15.30:

Andy Spence, Joint Managing Director, Britannia Fire Ltd.

Dr Nissanka Rajapakse, Group Head of Product Stewardship, Johnson Matthey

Mark Hirlam, Global Sales Director, Delipac

The inquiry’s terms of reference cover:

Understanding the threats and benefits from using Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

• What benefits do PFAS provide and how widely are they used?
• To what extent are UK health and environmental regulators equipped to detect, monitor and understand the risks posed by PFAS?
• How developed is the UK’s research base on the science of PFAS and the technology required to monitor their current and future impact?
• How sophisticated is current knowledge of how and where PFAS enter the supply chain?
• What is the current understanding of how PFAS are made and then used in terms of product ranges, and geographical and socioeconomic distribution?

To what extent are the Environment Agency, and other relevant UK bodies and research institutions, resourced to understand the current threat posed by PFAS and to monitor their impact going forward?

• The current status of measures to address PFAS
• What are the current technologies and solutions to treat PFAS pollution, how cost effective and efficient are they and do they create additional risks?
• How well equipped is the UK’s research and development (R&D) base to improve existing approaches to dealing with PFAS?

Is the current regulatory regime for PFAS fit for purpose?

• Is the current regulatory regime for the use and disposal of PFAS, including UK registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (UK Reach), adequate? If not, how can it be improved?
• Is a precautionary approach to PFAS desirable or is an approach that uses regulation to assess their benefits and risks more appropriate?
• Is there any regulatory divergence across the UK in terms of PFAS? If so, what are the implications, and is there a need for a more joined-up approach?
• How do other jurisdictions around the world, including the EU and US, regulate PFAS use and disposal, and what lessons, if any, can the UK learn?

What lessons can the UK learn from other countries on how they monitor and treat PFAS?

• What lessons can the UK learn from other countries in terms of resourcing and supporting the detection, monitoring and treatment of PFAS pollution?
• How does the UK compare to other countries in terms of funding research and new technologies to improve outcomes?

Click here to watch the evidence session live on ParliamentLive TV