health
February 10, 2026
The EU is working on a blanket ban of ‘forever chemicals’. Why isn't Britain?
In Lancashire, I met people living with dangerous levels of Pfas, including in their food. The government is failing them
TL;DR
- A woman in Lancashire discovered her ducks' eggs are contaminated with Pfas at levels significantly exceeding European safe weekly limits.
- The chemicals, known as 'forever chemicals', are persistent in the environment and linked to serious illnesses, including certain cancers.
- The UK government's new Pfas action plan is described as a 'plan to make a plan', lacking concrete steps for immediate action and relying on future consultations.
- A factory near the affected resident is still permitted to release a new Pfas chemical linked to potential damage to sexual function, fertility, and child development.
- The UK's Pfas regulation is seen as falling behind the EU, which is pursuing a blanket ban, while the UK adopts a 'Whac-A-Mole' approach of restricting chemicals individually.
- Environmentalists criticize the UK's gradual, prioritized approach to Pfas restriction as insufficient for those currently at risk.
- The government's plan emphasizes further research, which critics argue comes at the expense of acting on existing knowledge about Pfas toxicity and prevalence.
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