Firms ordered to reduce forever chemicals in drinking water sources for 6 million people

According to the BBC, water companies have been ordered to investigate potentially harmful levels of so-called forever chemicals in drinking water sources for more than six million people. A group of thousands of chemicals used in everyday life, forever chemicals, or PFAS. They are persistent pollutants that build up in the atmosphere, and a small number of them have been attributed to an elevated risk of certain chronic illnesses. The BBC reviewed 23 enforcement notices issued by the Drinking Water Inspectorate concerning elevated PFAS levels, which may constitute a potential risk to human health and show how many people were affected by the study to see how many individuals were affected. Water UK, a company, said it was secure drinking water.

However, Water UK has called for a ban on the chemicals in order to discourage accumulation. Water companies have been required to test for 47 of the most significant ones in water supply to customers' homes and drinking water sources such as aquifers and reservoirs, amid growing concerns about these chemicals, water companies have since 2021. In the last four years, 1. Around the world, 7 million experiments on individual forever chemicals have been conducted. At least 9,432 of those who had a PFAS reading above the DWI's recommended level indicate a potential threat to human health. If a test result is above or likely to exceed this threshold, it is likely to be surpassed. Test results are usually set at 0. 01ug/L (micrograms per litre) The Drinking Water Inspectorate issues enforcement notices to the water company, which requires the company to take steps to ensure that the water is safe. The BBC reviewed the enforcement documents, which were outlined by Watershed Investigations, a group of journalist activists, to identify all the water supply areas with sanctions in place. We matched each supply system to the number of clients it serves by using publicly available data, resulting in the identification of a minimum of six million people.

Thousands of products have been used regularly since the 1940s, from fry pans to medical equipment to school uniforms. According to Dr. William Hartz, an environmental chemist specialising in PFAS at Norwegian research institute NILU, they have found their way into the atmosphere - and the water that is intended for drinking - through the washing of PFASA chemicals, storm runoff, and freed from industrial sites. This could include PFAS leaching out as rainwater filters through landfill sites or firefighting training centers, where the use of any firefighter foam effectively releases forever chemicals into the environment. The study of PFAS is a new field, but only a small number of these chemicals have been found to pose significant risks to human health. The World Health Organization raised serious questions about two specific substances earlier this year. PFOA has been categorized as carcinogenic, and PFOS as potentially carcinogenetic, raising the risk of thyroid, testicular, and kidney cancers. Both substances are now banned.

However, Megan Kirton, senior projects officer at environmental charity Fidra, said the chemistry of PFAS meant they did not break down, so even if banned from leaving the environment unless treated by water companies, they would not break it down.

It's a difficult situation to be in because PFAS is so difficult to get out of water.

It's like trying to get milk out of your cup of coffee after you've already pour it in there. More than 2,000 individual test findings from 2024, which were obtained by Freedom of Information Act requests, were used to determine which specific PFAS chemicals were present in the test results when concentrations exceeded the thresholds. In more than 350 of the drinking water samples, PFOS and PFOA were detected.

Water quality remains safe, according to the Drinking Water Inspectorate, because, once a fine is released, water companies are expected to perform, modify, or enhance treatment for PFAS. Water companies are also allowed to minimize a source of drinking water entirely. This procedure can take several years and requires months of surveillance before a fine is lifted. The inspectorate told the BBC that it

operates one of the world's most comprehensive PFAS monitoring services,

ensuring that the public has

complete confidence in the safety of their drinking water. However, environmental charities and the Royal Society of Chemistry have expressed reservations that UK guidelines are not legally binding and that the maximums, which are 2. Should be reduced, 5 times higher than those in the United States.

I think we have a good idea of what PFAS are in the waterways in the United Kingdom and knowing that these health risks occur at very low rates, we think it's time that these recommendations be brought to law to ensure water companies are fully held to account,

Stephanie Metzger, policy advisor with the Royal Society of Chemistry.

There is a need for tighter treatment standards to safeguard public safety and the environment,

a government-commissioned independent review of England and Wales' water system found in July. According to the BBC, the government is currently preparing a white paper in reaction to the study, which will include changes to the Drinking Water Inspectorate. However, the Environment Agency has reported that removing PFAS from water treatment plants with conventional water treatment facilities is particularly difficult for water companies. Prof Peter Jarvis, a Cranfield University professor of water science and technology, said that nanofiltration technologies that could be used more widely, but that they came at a price and a lot of energy requirements.

We have to have a bit more mature discussion about how we go about implementing these technologies and how we pay for them,he said.You should be wherever you are in the United Kingdom, when you turn on your tap, you are enjoying the best drinking water in the world,

Water UK told the BBC. However, CEO David Henderson said that in light of increasing treatment prices, the chemicals should be banned.

This £70 million we're spending each and every year should be paid for by the chemical companies, and it's really unfair for people to see this added on top,

he said. In response to Water UK's remarks, a South West Water spokesperson said the five warnings against it were

precautionaryand that the water supply network wasinvesting £42 million over the next five years to upgrade the water distribution network.

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