The Forever Chemical Crisis We Can’t Afford to Ignore
- Peers for the Planet
- Jan 20
- 3 min read
By Baroness Boycott, Vice-Chair of Peers for the Planet
Published by ParliamentNews on the 20 January 2026
There are moments in public policy when warning signs are visible long before action is taken. Asbestos was once hailed as a miracle material, widely used in homes, schools and workplaces, it was only decades later that its deadly consequences became undeniable - by which point the harm was done and the legal reckoning inevitable.
Today, we risk repeating that mistake with PFAS, the so-called “forever chemicals”. A group of over 10,000 synthetic chemicals widely used in products and industrial processes[1], like asbestos, they are ubiquitous, persistent, and were adopted faster than our understanding of their long-term health effects. And like asbestos, the question is no longer whether they pose a problem, but how much damage we are willing to accept before acting.
I firmly believe that the prevalence of PFAS – that is Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances –in society will be one of the next scandals to erupt. In many ways it already is and has.
In 2025, residents of Jersey were recommended bloodletting to reduce high concentrations of “forever chemicals” in their blood. In their case exposure was through firefighting foam which leached into the islands water. But the problem is not limited to the Channel Island. A 2025 study from York University found PFAs at 98% of tested rivers across the UK[2] and the Environment Agency have found PFAs at 99% of tested surface water sites in the country[3]. Globally, the presence is comparable[4].
The name ‘forever chemicals’ is due to the fact that they do not breakdown naturally, and are very difficult and expensive to dispense with. They are not just in our waterways, they are in the food we eat and the saucepans we cook it in. The quickest way to find some PFAS would likely be to prick your finger and draw blood, for it would almost certainly be there, with one study citing approximately 99 percent[5] of humans tested, had the chemicals in their blood.
The impact? Cancers[6], fertility issues[7], impaired neurodevelopment[8], and reduced vaccine efficacy amongst children[9][10]. Pregnant mothers are passing PFAS onto their unborn children and studies show that children have higher levels of PFAS in their blood than adults[11]. A peer-reviewed study notes that health-related costs from PFAS exposure for Europe have been estimated from £45 billion to £73 billion annually[12], the cost to clean up toxic PFAS pollution could top £1.6tn in UK and Europe[13].
It is a crisis that needs to be addressed, and we need to do it quickly. This is why I have proposed an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to ban the use of PFAS chemicals in school uniform[14] – a source of exposure that many parents will understandably be oblivious to. It may be a small step, but it is a necessary one to stem the tide of PFAS attacking human health. And it makes sense to do it to address the demographic - children – who often have the highest levels of PFAS in their bodies[15].
So while I call on the Government to accept this small step forward, I also urge them to urgently consult on a wider ban, something the recent Environmental Improvement Plan review failed to include, and something that is already underway in Europe, with countries like Denmark and France implementing bans already. If we don’t do this we’ll be the ‘dirty man of Europe’ once again.
Sir Chris Whitty once said in relation to COVID-19, “there are several things we don’t know, but all the things we do know are bad” – this principle applies here.
We would never actively choose to expose our children to such dangers, indeed our collective agency to be exposed to PFAS has been removed due to their prevalence. But we can choose to take action to protect future generations. We can choose to hold those responsible to account and we can choose to ban materials and chemicals that continue to attack the health of each and every person.
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