PFAS clear up costs projected into billions

A year-long research project into PFAS pollution has revealed that the costs for cleanup could reach £9.9bn a year in the UK and £1.6tn across Europe as a whole

Found in a wide number of household products, including cosmetics, waterproofing, and non-stick coatings, the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemicals have also been a key component in some firefighting foams.

Known as ‘forever chemicals’, due to their persistence in the environment, they have been linked to infertility, cancers, immune and hormone disruption, and other illnesses.

As reported by The Guardian, PFAS have been detected in water courses and drinking water across the UK, with 278 sites where untreated drinking water exceeded the maximum guidance level. The number of pollution hotspots was also recorded as being on the rise, according to the research conducted by the Forever Lobbying Project. This project is a cross-border and interdisciplinary journalism investigation launched in 2022 to track the PFAS crisis across Europe to expose the real cost of PFAS pollution on the environment, science, and politics.

Up to 10,000 high-risk sites in the UK have been identified by the UK Environment Agency as being contaminated with PFAS. Particular hotspots include landfills, airports, military sites, sewage outfalls and sludge, manufacturers and industrial users of PFAS, and places where large amounts of firefighting foams have been used.

As previously reported by the FPA, since 1 January 2023, in attempts to prevent further contamination of groundwater due to run off, firefighting foams have only been allowed in sites where all releases can be contained. Additionally, as of 4 July 2025, all uses of the PFOA, a specific type of PFAS used in firefighting foams, will be prohibited. There are also currently two pending legislations that aim to regulate PFAS in the EU.

Speaking about the processes and costs of cleaning up these contaminated sites, Dave Megson, a PFAS expert at Manchester Metropolitan University said:

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.”

Responding to this report, a statement from the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs said: “This government is committed to protecting the environment from the risks posed by chemicals.

We are rapidly reviewing the environmental improvement plan to deliver on our legally binding targets to save nature, which includes how to best manage the risks posed by PFAS.”

The Fire Industry Association has released updated guidance on PFAS in firefighting foams, available here.