Fewer ‘forever chemicals’ in England’s rivers
· BehindLines newsroom
The Environment Agency for England published a report on 12 November about PFAS, substances nicknamed "forever chemicals". According to its press release and the BBC, concentrations of two of the oldest of these compounds, PFOS and PFOA, have fallen markedly in the country's rivers.
The figures in the report
Between 2016 and 2025, the agency says, PFOS fell by about 30% in English rivers and PFOA by 29%. In freshwater fish, PFOS dropped by about 49%. The document updates a 2021 assessment: it draws on far more measurements and on finer analytical techniques, the agency explains.
A decline credited to restrictions
PFAS first appeared in the 1930s and are used in products such as frying pans and firefighting foam, the BBC recalls. They resist water and oil, which is why they break down so slowly. The United Kingdom all but banned PFOS in 2010 and PFOA in 2020. The agency considers that these measures produced measurable reductions. David Megson, a researcher in environmental forensics at Manchester Metropolitan University, calls the progress "brilliant".
A file far from closed
There are thought to be about 15,000 other PFAS, of which around 200 are in common use, according to the BBC. The agency acknowledges that the toxicity of many of them remains uncertain and argues for regulating them as a group rather than one by one. The BBC reports that the chemicals industry has long opposed this: it says evidence of toxicity is absent or limited for the other compounds, and points out that some have essential uses, for example in medical equipment. The regulator now routinely tests for 60 other PFAS.
The report also stresses that these compounds remain widespread, because of decades of use and continuing releases from some sources. The BBC adds that, since these molecules take so long to break down, the total amount in the environment is probably unchanged: they have mostly been diluted and carried out to sea. Very high-temperature incineration is one of the few ways to destroy them for good, and the country has only two suitable sites.
Why it matters
These results show that restricting specific substances can produce visible effects in waterways, and the agency is relying on its expanded data to pinpoint the worst-affected areas.