The cost of cleaning up toxic forever chemical pollution could reach more than £1.6tn across the UK and Europe over a 20-year period, an annual bill of £84bn, research has found. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), commonly referred to as “forever chemicals” are a family of more than 10,000 human-made substances. The UK Environment Agency has identified up to 10,000 high-risk sites in the UK that are contaminated with PFAS. The RSC is calling for public protections from toxic PFAS to be enshrined in the recent water special measures bill, which is now at the committee stage. “These figures show that the cost of regulatory inaction on PFAS pollution is staggering,” said a spokesperson for environmental charity ChemTrust.

Source: The Guardian January 14, 2025 12:30 UTC