The PFAS problem: what the media storm means for your business

Last week, more than eight articles were published by national media outlets outlining some of the major UK sites and industries known to be causing PFAS contamination.

The articles didn’t just highlight the environmental implications of PFAS contamination, they also offered a sobering look at the human health risks and the hefty clean-up costs.

With increased public awareness of forever chemicals being met with calls for regulatory action to reduce ongoing emissions across the UK and Europe, it’s perhaps only a matter of time before tighter regulations find organisations facing reputational damage, potential litigation and a significant bill to pay if they ignore the problem.

The potential £9.9 billion per annum clean-up cost

Even with the enforcement of regulations to eliminate PFAS use, the cost of legacy clean-up will be immense.

46 Journalists from the Forever Lobbying Project, coordinated by Le Monde, have estimated that if emissions remain unrestricted that the cost of clean-up will reach a staggering £9.9 billion per year in the UK alone.

With media outlets promising an ongoing series of deeper dives into the PFAS problem, one question remains:

How can organisations releasing PFAS better understand their current and future liabilities and start to act now?

Emerging gaps in regulatory standards

Data published by CHEM Trust (2021) highlights that since BREXIT and the establishment of the UK Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) as a replacement for EU REACH, a large gap between UK and EU regulatory standards has emerged.

Over the last three years the UK has witnessed a tightening of UK REACH restrictions on the import and manufacture of chemicals registered as ‘Persistent Organic Pollutants’ under the Stockholm Convention. We also have publication of Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) guidance and the requirement for water utility companies to assess their catchment(s) and the introduction in Interim Human Health guidelines (C4SL) for four PFAS compounds based on land use.

Despite these restrictions, the UK has no statutory limits for PFAS in drinking water, surface water, groundwater, food, food packaging and waste. In fact, out of the 10,000+ PFAS compounds, only PFOS and PFOA are restricted under UK Reach.

With growing public awareness and mounting regulatory pressure, it’s predicted that tighter restrictions will occur in the UK in line with imposed EU standards, which would have significant cost implications for several organisations, including:

• Manufacturers of solvents, Teflon, firefighting foam, and pharmaceuticals
• Owners of PFAS impacted sites (airports, defence, fire stations)
• PFAS distribution networks (water utility companies)
• Waste management and disposal facilities (incinerators, landfills)

Concerns remain around the selection and use of appropriate disposal techniques, with the landfilling of PFAS waste having been identified as a major potential contributor of PFAS through the processing and treatment of its leachate.

The litigation trend

There has been a growing litigation trend occurring outside of the UK over the last 10 years, particularly in Australia and America, driving the need for businesses to assess their PFAS liabilities ahead of changing regulations.

In America alone, settlements stemming from environmental contamination-related claims from PFAS pollution, particularly regarding contaminated drinking water, have already reached $18 billion. This trend looks to continue in the UK with residents of a North Yorkshire town taking the first PFAS UK legal action against a firefighting foam manufacturer over potential health risks caused by ‘forever chemicals’ found in soils and groundwater.

Preparation for the impending regulation of forever chemicals is the first step towards increased understanding and reduced liability. Comprehensive site characterisation and investigation is key to understanding your sites liability and potential PFAS impact upon human health and sensitive environmental receptors

Managing PFAS risks and ensuring future compliance

Tetra Tech’s Leading with Science® approach to managing PFAS and emerging contaminant risks combines our understanding of developing regulations, future compliance requirements, and collaboration with our global network of interdisciplinary experts and practitioners.

Our regulatory expertise covers The United States, Asia, Australia, Canada, Mexico, South America, United Kingdom and Europe, all of which inform our assessments, recommendations, and remediation strategies.

Tetra Tech can support you by undertaking:

• Preliminary risk assessment to understand potential historical and current use of PFAS onsite
• Site characterisation
• Groundwater and human health Quantitative Risk Assessment
• Regulatory compliance
• Remediation and treatment
• Catchment and Drinking Water Assessment
• Due diligence
• Source characterisation through fingerprint analysis
• Contaminant mass flux assessment
• Contaminant modelling using AI data driven solutions
• PFAS layer removal through our innovative chemical cleaning agent PFAScrub®
• Laboratory analysis with direct access to results within hours of reported results through our bespoke GIS database
• PFAS analysis to understand PFAS compound risks and prepare for future guidance changes through our RPS (a Tetra Tech company) Bedford laboratory, one of the first labs to gain UKAS accreditation for PFAS chemicals analysis in the country

Understanding your site and its potential for PFAS impact is the first step in understanding the current and future liabilities of your company.

If you have any queries or would like further information on our services and how Tetra Tech can support your organisation with regard to PFAS, please contact us.