The government has said that it “broadly supports” the recommendations of an expert panel advising it on its response to a toxic chemical present in the island – including bringing in a statutory limit for drinking water and cleaning up contaminated soil.
As advised by the ‘PFAS Scientific Advisory Panel’, Environment Minister Steve Luce recently proposed a change to the law to make it illegal for drinking water supplies to exceed four nanograms per litre – a third of current levels – within five years.
But the most recent report from the panel also put forward several other recommendations – including regarding the management of land and soil…
Remedial work thresholds
The expert panel recommended several indicative PFAS levels that could inform whether land should be classified as “PFAS affected” and whether they should be considered for remedial work.
For example, the panel called for the source of contamination to be identified and remediation considered for agricultural, sensitive, residential, recreational or industrial land with levels exceeding 20 µg/kg dry matter.
However, the government said while it “broadly supports” the use of PFAS levels differentiated by land type to inform risk and decision making, they would act as “triggers for further investigation” rather than “definitive thresholds requiring immediate action”.
Decisions on this, it explained, will “require careful consideration” and will be “informed by the final recommendations of the panel” as well as “wider policy, regulatory and resource considerations”.
Soil washing has “rarely been successful”
The panel also recommended that if land is considered a contamination hotspot that soil washing – a special technique that removes PFAS from the soil by applying large amounts of water – may be appropriate.
In response, the government said it “has rarely been successfully implemented” when tried locally in the past, because of “practical constraints relating to scale, infrastructure, cost and the management and disposal of waste arising from the process”.
But, it added that “while it is not not used at present, it is not ruled out as a potential option in the future” as it recognises that “soil washing may continue to develop internationally”.
The government noted that the panel recommended the use of incineration as the best disposal technology for PFAS treatment residues, but added: “With limited access to appropriate scale incineration technology in Jersey, as the panel have noted, there is a need for careful planning for disposal / destruction in all PFAS interventions.”
Advice for private borehole owners
The panel has also recommended that the government should provide more information
on water filtration systems to the 3,500 or so households in Jersey that use private boreholes.
In response to this, the government said it “recognises the importance of clear advice and accessible support for Islanders over the concerns about PFAS”, and that in the coming months there will be a dedicated page for it on its website.
“This will provide clear information, set out available advice and signpost Islanders to appropriate sources of support, including how testing can be accessed and how results can be interpreted,” it said.
“It will also make clear the respective roles and responsibilities, including the management and treatment of private water supplies rest with the property owner.”
Existing PFAS levels in land need to be considered before biosolids are applied
The panel also recommended that biosolids should only be applied to land when the level of PFAS in that land is below the contaminated threshold for that particular land type and will not be raised over the threshold by doing so.
The government said it accepts that existing PFAS levels in the land need to be considered, but added that “further work is required” before these considerations can translate into policy or guidance, “including continued efforts to reduce PFAS contamination at source”.
“Longer-term infrastructure investment in this area will be considered as part of the government’s broader approach to future environmental management and resilience,” it said.
What are the toxic “forever chemicals”?
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of man-made chemicals that have been used widely in industrial processes and consumer products.
They have been manufactured and used globally for several decades and are now present in the environment worldwide, including in Jersey.
PFAS have been used in products designed to resist heat, oil, stains and water. Common applications include clothing, furniture, adhesives, food packaging, heat-resistant non-stick cooking surfaces and the insulation of electrical wiring.
They are dubbed ‘forever chemicals’ due to their inability to break down in the environment or human body. They have been linked to several health conditions, including kidney cancer, high cholesterol and infertility.
In Jersey, PFOS was an ingredient of firefighting foam used for years at the Airport. High concentrations have been found in water, including boreholes, streams and ponds, around the aerodrome. It has also been found at high levels in islanders’ blood.