Three years… Four reports… One question: will the government finally act on PFAS?

Islanders campaigning for action to combat the impact of a manmade chemical linked to various health conditions including cancer, kidney disease and high cholesterol have said that ministers now need to act following the completion of work by a panel of scientific experts…

Express explores the key findings – and the reactions of those who have been fighting for many years for PFAS contamination recognition and action…

On Friday, the government published the fourth and final report by its ‘Independent PFAS Scientific Advisory Panel’.

Its release ended three years of work by the three-member group, who have made dozens of wide-ranging recommendations over that period, including proposing blood-cleansing, the use of a cholesterol-reducing drug, and a maximum level of the carbon-based family of chemicals in drinking water.

PFAS, or ‘Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances’, are a group of thousands of synthetic, man-made chemicals widely used since the 1950s due to their ability to resist heat, oil, stains, grease, and water.

Often called “forever chemicals,” they do not easily break down in the environment or the human body. It was an ingredient of firefighting foam sprayed at the Airport over several years, which then entered the water course, contaminating a large area of St Ouen’s Bay and the Pont Marquet Valley, which runs from the Airport to St Aubin.

“I do not think ‘success’ can be judged by the publication of another report”

In response to the concerns of Islanders, the government set up the panel to advise it in July 2023.

With its work complete, campaigner Paul Le Claire of Water Awareness Jersey said: “The panel has finished its work; the government’s work is just beginning. I do not think ‘success’ can be judged by the publication of another report; the real measure is cleaner water, greater transparency, and real action.

“You cannot argue that the panel’s work wasn’t important and valuable research – it absolutely was – and I think the key takeaway was its recommendation of a standard of four nanograms per litre of PFAS in our water for drinking water for the sum of four of the main PFAS that are known to harm people.

“That is important because it is a very good standard that has been adopted by countries including Sweden and Denmark. We now need to get the regulations in place, and the government and new ministers need to take action upon this advice.”

“I’m sure our ministers would like to have more room for manoeuvre”

Mr Le Claire added: “I’m sure our ministers would like to have more room for manoeuvre because it would mean spending less money. However, it is something they will have to face up to because the government did not get enough money out of the polluters in the first place [when it signed a £2.6m deal with firefighting foam manufacturer 3M in 2004].”

“The Health Minister [Tom Binet] has already proposed a higher target of ten nanograms per litre but that was rejected by the panel because their proposed standard is based upon on set by the European Food Safety Authority,” he continued.

“That standard is designed to keep people within a tolerable weekly intake of PFAS over a long period of time. And we only get 20% of our PFAS from water; the rest comes from food, makeup, carpets, the La Collette chimney and all the other things that contain PFAS.”

“More questions remain unanswered”

Another campaigner, Claire Simon, who lives in St Ouen’s Bay and says she has no doubt that PFAS has caused illness among her family and neighbours, said: “The panel has got things off to a good start, although I don’t think that they were given the full information.”

She said that, having spoken to them, she was left with the impression that there were “important gaps in their knowledge”.

“However, they did make helpful recommendations, particularly on the environmental, as opposed to health, side,” she continued. “Anything that tries to move an issue forward is a good exercise, but will the government implement what the panel said? No, I don’t think it will.

“We’ve already had an attempt to raise the drinking water standard and I fear we will go back to square one with this new Council of Ministers. Meanwhile, people are getting sicker, more people are having operations, and more questions are remaining unanswered.”

On Friday, following publication of the final panel report, new Environment Minister Mary Le Hegarat said: “Ministers are arranging technical briefings to ensure that we fully understand the panel’s findings, the work already undertaken and the matters requiring further consideration.

“This will help inform a considered and evidence-based government response.”​

The panel was led by independent chair Dr Steve Hajioff, who has a public health background. He sat with epidemiologist Dr Tony Fletcher and PFAS and environment specialist Professor Ian Cousins, a professor in environmental organic chemistry at Stockholm University.