Who pays for the past? Spotlight on PFAS
Waterproof coating - Unsplash photo by Tobias Rademacher
Stuff4Life founder John Twitchen considers who pays for the legacy impacts of forever chemicals in textiles in an article for Circular Online.
The Environmental Audit Committee has issued a stark warning about the growing risks posed by PFAS, concluding that the UK is falling behind international efforts to control the so-called ‘forever chemicals’.
In its latest report, published on 23 April, MPs describe PFAS as persistent, bioaccumulative pollutants now widely detected in water, soil and human populations, with potential links to cancer, immune disruption and fertility issues.
Precautionary approach
The Committee criticises the UK Government’s approach as too slow and overly reliant on gathering evidence rather than acting to prevent harm.
It calls for a decisive shift towards a precautionary model, including phasing out all non-essential uses of PFAS and regulating the chemicals as a single class rather than tackling them one by one.
Without such changes, MPs warn, contamination will continue to build and the cost of remediation will escalate.
“The rain just falls off of me, the tears just fall off of me… ’coz I'm waterproof”
Sparks, 2006
We agree. However, neither the UK report nor current EU proposals offer detailed mechanisms for dealing with PFAS embedded in existing consumer goods. There is no immediate suggestion of recalls or disposal mandates for clothing already in use.
Who pays for the past?
The Committee endorses the ‘polluter pays’ approach, arguing that industry, rather than taxpayers, should fund monitoring, clean-up and remediation of contamination.
The need to identify and either quarantine items containing PFAS, or separate PFAS compounds in end of life processing and recycling will be key.
If we fail to address that now, future generations will inherit both the contamination and the bill.
Read the full article here.
For more information or to sign up for our newsletter, contact us.