Could UK Tap Water's 'Forever Chemicals' Lead To France-Style Bans?
Local authorities put letters through approximately 60,000 mailboxes urging the public to ensure that kids under two, pregnant and breastfeeding people, and the immunocompromised don't drink tap water.
This was because the levels of PFAs, also known as 'forever chemicals,' had been raised to four times the acceptable limit by firefighting foam used in a local airport since the '60s.
PFAS stand for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, chemicals which take an extremely long time to break down. They're present in everything from skincare products to frying pans and include 5,000+ substances.
Saint-Louis is one of thousands of EU water sources suspected to be contaminated by too many PFAs, the overconsumption of which may be linked to increased cancer risk, reproductive issues, compromised immune systems, and even heightened cholesterol levels.
Given that 'from 2018 to 2022, 51-60% of rivers, 11-35% of lakes and 47-100% of transitional and coastal waters exceeded the annual average environmental quality standards (EQS) for PFOS [a specific PFAS]' in Europe, we thought we'd ask what that might mean for the UK.
Speaking to HuffPost UK, Professor Sir Colin Berry, Emeritus Professor of Pathology at the Queen Mary University of London, offered some reassurance.
'It is worth emphasising the reason that these compounds [PFAS] are persistent is that they are non-reactive; the chances that the very small amounts found will have detectable adverse effect if ingested is vanishingly small,' the former President of the European Society of Pathology told us.
'The levels are set as precautionary values and are more to do with control of contamination than concern about health,' he added.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate says that, 'Based on our current knowledge, the low levels of PFAS detected in some untreated water abstracted for public drinking water supplies has no acute or immediate impact on human health.'
Still, a 2023 evaluation by the World Health Organisation concluded that teo PFAS (perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)) can be considered carcinogenic and possibly carcinogenic, respectively.
PFOAs are group 1 carcinogens per the WHO's cancer research sector, IARC, along with processed meat, tobacco, and asbestos.
PPOS are group 2B 'possible' carcinogens, along with aloe vera, coconut oil, and pickled vegetables.
Doctors have previously criticised the IARC cancer grouping system for not considering 'the level of risk relative to the dosage,' which they think may have led to the body grouping things like salted fish in the same group 1 carcinogen class as plutonium.
Whatever the disputed effects of going over the EU's limit of PFAS may be, Dr Shubhi Sharma, a Scientific Research Assistant at CHEM Trust, says parts of the UK certainly do that.
'PFAS have already been found in almost 200 untreated drinking water samples in England and the levels in these samples were found to be above the Drinking Water Inspectorate's PFAS threshold guidance for England and Wales, which is a 'wholesomeness' value of 0.1 ug/l for 48 PFAS,' she told us.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told The Guardian in response to those claims that 'Ensuring the safety of our staff, personnel and the public is our number one priority and that's why we are complying with the relevant legislation and regulations.
'As understanding of these chemicals has changed, we have responded accordingly. We have prioritised a programme of investigation of our sites, which has been agreed with the Environment Agency.'
The CHEM Trust researcher said England and Wales 'have no statutory limits on PFAS in drinking water – the water companies just need to test for 48 PFAS, but this is a non-binding guidance. Scotland, on the other hand, adheres to EU standards, which are far stricter than the UK guidelines.'
Member states of the EU, she added, will need to comply with the Drinking Water Directive thresholds by 12th January 2026.
'People in [the] UK have different threats of exposure to PFAS in their drinking water depending on whether they live in Scotland or England/Wales,' Dr Sharma added.
Dr Sharma, who believes PFAS carry health risks and are a 'huge concern,' says that 'the UK needs to regulate PFAS as a group and at the very source' (mainly industrial sites).
But seeing as England and Wales have no statutory limit on PFAS and Scotland sticks to the EU-recommended level, a tap water ban based on the slow-degrading chemicals seems unlikely any time soon.
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