Regulators overlooking toxic Pfas found around Lancashire chemicals plant | Pfas

Regulators measuring “forever chemicals” near a chemical factory in Lancashire are not testing a substance produced by the company itself despite evidence it may be prolific and is being spread in large quantities.

Reprotoxic means that a substance may harm a person’s sexual function, fertility, or the development of their child and is no longer

Independent sampling found the substance in soil around the factory.

Pfas, or forever chemicals, are a large group of man-made substances used in a wide variety of consumer products, firefighting foams, and industrial processes. They do not break down easily and therefore accumulate in the environment, water, wildlife and the human body. Scientists linked some Pfas (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) It protects against cancers, hormone disruption, immune system effects, and other health risks.

AGC Chemicals in Lancashire has been under investigation since the Guardian and Watershed Inquiries revealed that high levels of the banned carcinogen Pfas, called PFOA, were being discharged from the area into the River Wyre. People living nearby have been told not to eat food from their gardens or plots, and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) has been found in vegetables. The AGC said that although Pfas levels were detected, the ongoing investigation did not lead to any conclusions.

The Environment Agency has been sampling soil and water around the AGC for a range of Pfas and has detected some, including PFOA, but has ignored Pfas, called EEA-NH4, produced by the AGC and used in the production of chemicals used in non-stick products such as cookware.

In a report on the substance, the agency estimated that around 800kg of EEA-NH4 was released into the River Wyre per year. Another states that the chemical is “very persistent” and “mobile” in the environment and is classified as “reprotoxic category 2”. The AGC said it had not been determined whether there was a public health risk around the site.

New independent sampling confirmed the presence of EEA-NH4 in soils surrounding the facility. Doctor David MegsonThe forensic scientist and Pfas expert who carried out the analysis said there were “huge amounts of toxic substances” in the environment that regulators had overlooked.

“Our results showed that in addition to PFOA, the soil surrounding the site consistently contained EEA-NH4 and hydrogen-substituted carboxylic acids (H-PFCAs). Less is known about these… but studies suggest they have similar toxicity,” Megson said. “It is important to take these into account as any human health risk assessment that does not include these chemicals is likely to underestimate the health risks from Pfas in this area.”

The Environment Agency said it could only look for Pfas for which an established analytical standard has been established and there was no one available for EEA-NH4, but Megson said it was absurd to ignore known Pfas emissions from the site.

“To me, this highlights a significant limitation of the current testing regime,” he said. “Any contaminated land investigation must carefully consider the source, receptor, and pathway. There are over 7 million potential Pfas; it is not appropriate to focus only on a handful of commonly detected Pfas. Instead, the focus should be on specific Pfas from the source, including EEA-NH4 and H-PFCAs.”

Prof Hans Peter Arp, an expert on Pfas from the Norwegian Institute of Science and Technology, said: “Given everything we know about Pfas – their persistence, costly clean-up and emerging hazards – it remains a shock that there is so little oversight of emissions from production plants.

“This is not just a UK problem, it’s a global problem. We need stronger monitoring of total Pfas, not just known substances like EEA-NH4, but also residues. Citizens, who often bear the cost of health and remediation, need to know how much Pfas is being released so pollutants can be held accountable and the transition to zero Pfas emissions can begin.”

Crispin Halsall, professor of environmental organic chemistry at Lancaster University, said: “The Environment Agency should expand its research and screening of EEA-NH4 and other short-chain polyether perfluorocarboxylic acids.”

He said these compounds “can be added relatively easily to existing analytical procedures for Pfas measurements” and that including them “will change and possibly increase risk assessment.” [assessed] Risk of harm to people exposed to Pfas”.

A spokesman for AGC Chemicals Europe Ltd said the company “has a proud history of manufacturing in Lancashire and sets the highest standards for itself, taking its commitments to the local community and environment extremely seriously.”

They noted that although the current multi-agency investigation is focused on PFOA air emissions, the AGC “volunteered last year to commission a third-party assessment of the land it occupies, covering existing and legacy chemicals with the scope agreed by Wyre council and the Environment Agency.” This assessment has now progressed to “intrusive in-situ studies of both soil and water”, with findings expected to be shared with authorities early next year.

The spokesperson emphasized that the use of EEA-NH4 was permitted with the facility’s consent, subject to Reach registration (EU regulatory procedure), and that the Environment Agency carried out an independent risk assessment in April 2023.

“It has not been determined at this time what the public health risk might be,” they said, adding that independent monitoring over four decades has shown that wastewater from the company’s Hillhouse plant “does not have a significant impact” on protected areas of the Wyre estuary.

An Environment Agency spokesman said they were working with AGC’s Thornton-Cleveleys facility “to ensure ongoing compliance with the requirements of environmental permits”. They confirmed that, at the request of Wyre Council, the force “investigated the site and surrounding land for historic contamination unrelated to current operations”.

“There is no strong evidence to suggest that EAA-NH4 contamination is widely present in the land surrounding the site,” the spokesman added.