Forever Chemicals Clean-Up could Cost US$1.9tn

Data from the Forever Lobbying Project (FLP) shows that cleaning up 'forever chemical' pollution across the UK and Europe could cost £1.6tn (nearly US$2tn) over a 20 year period.
The data predicts that the annual bill will be £84bn (nearly US$103.3bn) annually with £9.9bn (US$12bn) coming from the UK alone.
This figure is so high due to the amount of British pollution hotspots continuing to rise, spurting out more forever chemicals than ever.
The FLP consists of more than 46 journalists and 18 experts across 16 countries.
What are forever chemicals and why is there a concern?
Forever chemicals, also known as PFAS (Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances), are a group of more than 10,000 man-made chemicals that persist in the environment.
PFAS have been circulating in consumer products since the 1950’s.
The chemicals are built on Carbon-Fluoride bonds - this is one of the strongest chemical bonds, hence PFAS don't degrade easily or quickly.
These forever chemicals are in millions of products including food packaging, cookware, clothing, stain resistant carpets and firefighting foam.
Over time, PFAS can leak into soil, water and air.
People are most likely to consume these chemicals via contaminated water or food.
Because it breaks down slowly, people and animals can be repeatedly exposed to them – blood levels of some PFAS can build up over time.
One report by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), found PFAS in the blood of 97% of tested Americans.
Some of the main components of PFAS chemicals were removed from consumer products in the early 2000s, however new PFAS chemicals have been created and exposure to them can be difficult to assess.
Due to there being so many types of PFAS chemicals, which often occur in complex mixtures and in various everyday products, researchers can face challenges in studying them.
Some research has linked PFAS to risks of infertility, cancers, immune and hormone disruption and other illnesses.
The UK’s PFAS problem
The UK has been found to contain multiple contamination hotspots including landfills, airports, military sites and sewage outfalls.
Data from the Drinking Water Inspectorates found 278 examples where untreated drinking water exceeded maximum guidance levels of PFAS, with a further 255,610 samples at levels where reduction measures need to be taken.
Just cleaning legacy pollution in the UK will cost an estimated £428m (US$522m) every year for the next 20 years.
The cost of this would cover remediating contaminated soils, landfill leachate and treating 5% of drinking water in the large water supply zones – all of this just for the two regulated PFAS compounds.
The two regulated PFAS compounds are Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).
The UK Environment Agency has identified up to 10,000 high-risk sites in the UK that are contaminated with PFAS.
These high estimated costs only cover decontamination, not potential socioeconomic costs or health system costs.
What is the solution?
Dr Dave Megson, a PFAS expert at Manchester Metropolitan University explains: “The current remediation of PFAS-contaminated samples is predominantly through high temperature incineration, which is very expensive.
“Our recent research on landfill wastewater treatment plants shows that some facilities actually create banned PFAS, rather than destroy them. More funding towards developing effective lower cost remediation options is desperately needed to tackle this issue.”
A YouGov survey commissioned by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) found more than three-quarters of respondents said the use of PFAS known to be toxic should be stopped immediately or subject to more effective controls.
The most popular control measure the UK public would accept is increased regulation on industries using PFAS, requiring them to reduce and reverse the contamination caused by their processes.
The RSC is calling for public protections from toxic PFAS to be enshrined in the water special measures bill.
Stephanie Metzger, the RSC’s Chemistry Policy Adviser, says: “No one chooses the water that comes out of their tap. This bill is a crucial first step, and we also urge government and industry to build upon this change by creating a national inventory of PFAS and enforcing stricter limits on industrial discharges.”
Environmental groups have criticised the government for what they say is a weak chemicals regulatory system.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is said to be taking action and has begun investigating whether to restrict PFAS in firefighting foams among other measures.
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