Manufacturers seek further clarity on UK’s ‘forever chemicals’ approach

The government pledged its renewed commitment to tackle per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – often referred to as ‘forever chemicals’ – as it published its Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 (PDF 124 pages / 5.7MB) in early December, setting out an ambitious five-year roadmap including 91 updated commitments and ten goals to restore natural habitats and biodiversity, reduce waste, support sustainable growth and improve air quality to protect public health.

Although restrictions are already in place for three such ‘forever chemicals’, the government announced in an accompanying press release that it will publish a dedicated PFAS plan in 2026 as part of its overarching goal to “minimise environmental risks from chemicals and pesticides”.

The government says the plan will outline both “regulatory and non-regulatory interventions, measures and initiatives with specific actions and delivery milestones” and set out a coordinated response spanning both government and industry, overseen by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Under the proposals, the Environment Agency will provide advice, guidance and tools to support the management of PFAS at contaminated sites and ensure technical guidance and tools are reviewed and updated as necessary.

Managing exposure to chemicals and pesticides was identified as a goal in the first revision to the UK’s environmental improvement plans (EIP), published by the Conservative government in January 2023.

Regulatory expert Zoe Betts of Pinsent Masons said it was particularly significant that the Labour government had decided to include tackling PFAS as a primary commitment in its first EIP, marking the first time that a UK government has developed a dedicated strategy to reducing the risks that ‘forever chemicals’ pose to both health and the environment. However, she cautioned that the government should take care to ensure it takes a considered approach to any restrictions, backed by robust scientific research.

“Poorly thought through prohibitions could easily lead to excessive burdens on businesses, with no clear evidential benefits for wider society,” she said.

The government says it will also make a decision in 2027 on whether to implement a potential UK REACH restriction on PFAS in firefighting foams, which are not currently banned in the UK. REACH restrictions limit, ban or set conditions on chemicals that are manufactured or imported into Great Britain to help control the use of substances that pose risks to human health or the environment.

A restriction on firefighting foam would be based on two considerations: a proposal by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in 2025 that use of such foams “presents a risk to the environment, and human health via the environment, that is not adequately controlled by measures already in place”; and the responses to the HSE’s related consultation into expanding existing restrictions to these foams, which closes on 18 February 2026.

The government says any decision on this matter would be coordinated between Defra, the HSE and the Environment Agency, and would be made with the consent of the devolved governments of Scotland and Wales.

Manufacturers and insurers have grown increasingly concerned about the potential liability risks facing companies who have used PFAS in production or manufacturing products that contain them.

Betts said manufacturers would be keenly awaiting more details from the government on the exact implications of the PFAS plan for industry, as well as clarity on the government’s position on PFAS in firefighting foams. “Many will already have taken steps to assess the use of PFAS in their products and supply chain and to make substitutions where possible,” she added. “Those who have not already started should do so now.

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is expected to report on plans for a wider prohibition on ‘forever chemicals’ across the EU in 2026.  Betts said: “Given that the UK government’s plan also contains a commitment to reform UK REACH to enable protections that address chemical pollution to be applied more quickly, efficiently and in a way that is more aligned with, in particular, the EU, it will be particularly interesting to see what happens here.”

Katie Hancock, an expert in environmental litigation at Pinsent Masons, said that the proposals would be welcomed by industry “after a period of regulatory inactivity which has caused uncertainty”.

“Particularly of note are the proposals that the government will consider the Independent Water Commission’s recommendation to ‘tighten regulatory oversight of sludge activity by moving the treatment, storage and use of sludge into the Environmental Permitting Regulations,” she said. “This is a topic which has attracted increasing public attention in recent years. Water UK, the trade association representing the water industry, has vocally called for action on PFAS in wastewater and introduction of a ‘polluter pays’ principle, as is currently being considered in the EU.”

“Many businesses are currently paralysed by uncertainty as to how to work with PFAS used or produced during their manufacturing processes, and how to dispose of them. Threats of litigation relating to PFAS are also making headlines, in the UK and overseas. It is hoped that the proposed PFAS plan will help to break this logjam in the coming year.”