PFAS campaigners ‘delighted’ as biomonitoring programme for England announced

Health authorities in England will begin sampling per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) levels in people across the general population as part of an annual survey, following sustained campaigning from academics and community groups. 

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has announced that PFAS will now be monitored in urine samples collected through the existing Health Survey for England. Other chemicals including lead and arsenic will also be screened. 

The risks associated with PFAS exposure have been well understood since the mid-2000s, when a landmark study in the Mid-Ohio Valley in the US began to find probable links to thyroid disease, testicular and kidney cancers and other health consequences. However, campaigners argue the UK has been slow to act, while many PFAS-containing products such as cookware and school uniform remain on the market in the absence of a full commitment to phase them out. 

Communities near sources of industrial PFAS, such as firefighting foam factories, have grown increasingly concerned that they may be at a heightened risk of health complications. Last month, an independent study in Thornton-Cleveleys, the location of a former PFAS manufacturing plant, found levels of PFOA in residents’ blood were elevated compared to baseline levels recorded in the US. 

However, there is currently no UK baseline to compare against. The UKHSA’s decision to start UK-wide biomonitoring means that baseline data will now be collected, the first of which it expects to be available in 2027, although the agency remains opposed to routine blood testing for PFAS, on the basis that “there is currently insufficient evidence to determine what action should follow from a specific result”. 

David Megson, an environmental forensics researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University who led the Thornton-Cleveleys analysis, said he was “delighted” by the UKHSA’s announcement. “This is something I’ve been advocating for a long time and is an incredibly important first step in understanding the PFAS burden that we all have been exposed to in the UK,” he told TCE.

“This will be incredibly important for communities and individuals who believe they have been exposed to high levels of PFAS as we will now have a UK benchmark to what ‘normal’ exposure looks like.”

However, Megson warned that the results could reveal how much the UK has to “catch up” with PFAS action. “I am fearful that as a general population we will have a higher burden than other areas, such as the US, that have been more proactive with PFAS regulations, but I hope I am wrong.”

Stephanie Metzger, a sustainable chemicals policy advisor at the Royal Society of Chemistry, said she was “pleased” by the UKHSA’s announcement. “It’s really important to establish baseline levels of PFAS in the UK population in order to track trends over time. It will also help health authorities and regulators to know if any specific groups of people have unusually high levels, whether that is due to occupational exposure or living near a PFAS hot spot.”

Evidence gaps

The UKHSA’s decision to launch biomonitoring comes after the agency said last month that more evidence was needed to understand the health consequences for people living near industrial PFAS sites in the UK. 

Edward Wynne-Evans, the UKHSA’s director of radiation, chemicals, climate and environmental hazards, said: “While PFAS can be detected in people, there remain important evidence gaps around what different levels of exposure mean for an individual’s long-term health. Our work is focused on helping to address those questions through research, biomonitoring and evidence reviews. 

“The evidence available to date suggests that any health effects are likely to be limited. The strongest evidence from across the globe currently relates to possible associations with raised cholesterol and potentially lower birth weight, but further work is required to better understand these findings and their significance.”

Hélène Duguy, a lawyer at environmental law charity ClientEarth, said: “Building a clearer picture of people’s exposure to PFAS is absolutely crucial, and many countries in Europe still refuse to do so. Only through biomonitoring can we fully understand the extent of PFAS contamination. To prevent future pollution, this also needs to be accompanied by action to phase out these forever chemicals.”