Russell and Carol - hayle and hearty

Oh well - that's OK... NOT!!!!

The UKHSA said PFAS biomonitoring was not currently recommended
through the NHS or private blood tests, but it was "developing capabilities" as an agency to examine human exposure to PFAS by analysing blood and urine samples.

It said that "most people in the UK are likely to have measurable levels of PFAS in the blood" as it is "widespread", with exposure coming from food, drinking water, air
and everyday products.

...

Residents previously asked the council to test their blood for
the chemical. But according to the UK Health Security Agency, PFAS monitoring is not currently recommended because "tests are unlikely to provide clear information for individuals".

 

 

 

Forever chemicals are a group of substances, also known as PFAS, that are resistant to water
and oil and are in thousands of everyday products, such as clothing and cookwear.

But because they do not break down easily they have raised
health concerns. PFOA has been banned in the UK since 2020 because it was classed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a Group 1 carcinogen, which means there is clear scientific
evidence it can increase the risk of cancer.

The Environment Agency and Wyre Council have been testing the area close to the AGC Chemicals
factory since 2024 to determine if it has been contaminated.

They found PFOA at elevated levels in the soil, eggs and locally grown vegetables.

...

The UK does not have any recommendations about acceptable PFAS levels in people, although the US and Germany do.

Of the
49 residents tested, 70% had readings that could leave them at increased risk of adverse health effects, according to these countries' guidelines.

Possible effects include a higher risk of reduced thyroid function, kidney cancer, testicular cancer, elevated cholesterol, pre-eclampsia and ulcerative colitis.

Having elevated forever chemicals in their blood is not a guarantee residents will develop these conditions, but US and German authorities have
suggested anyone with elevated levels should be offered further health screening.

 

...Overseas, one of the biggest legal cases over PFOA contamination was in West Virginia, in the US, which was depicted in the 2019 film Dark Waters. In that case, DuPont and
Chemours Co settled more than 3,500 PFOA lawsuits for a total of $671m (£526m). Both companies have always denied any wrongdoing.

 

 

 

...

 

Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)

The area in Thornton-Cleveleys has been under investigation
for years by the Environment Agency over contamination of soils and locally grown food from the substance used to manufacture non-stick frying pans until 2012.

...

 

The factory in Thornton- Cleveleys first started operating in the 1950s, when ICI manufactured coating for non-stick frying pans using PFOA. AGC
Chemicals took over the factory in 1999 and continued using PFOA until 2012, when it switched to a replacement chemical called EEA-NH4, which was also found in the blood of 10 residents
tested.

A spokesperson for AGC Chemicals said the site manufactured chemicals long before the company was established. "Since the wider multi-
agency investigation is still ongoing and no formal determination of land contamination has been made, we cannot speculate on future outcomes or next steps," they said.

Earlier this month, AGC Chemicals said the factory would close later this year after deciding there was no "viable solution to keep the site
operating in the context of a volatile and competitive market".

 

 

 

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmr4v9nr320zo?1=1

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjly4rv0q3l0o

 

 

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AGC Chemicals in Lancashire has been under investigation since the Guardian and Watershed Investigations revealed high levels of a banned carcinogenic
Pfas, called PFOA, being discharged from the site into the River Wyre.
People living nearby have been told not to eat food from their gardens
or allotments, and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) has been found in
vegetables. AGC said while levels of Pfas had been detected, there had
been no conclusion to the ongoing investigation.

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

In one report on the substance, the agency estimated about 800kg of
EEA-NH4 was being emitted into the River Wyre annually. In another it
says the chemical is “very persistent” and “mobile” in the environment,
as well as being classified as “reprotoxic category 2”. AGC said it had
not been determined what, if any, public health risk there might be
around the site.

 

...

The Environment Agency has said it could only
look for Pfas for which an established analytical standard had already
been created, and there was not one available for EEA-NH4, but Megson
says it is absurd to ignore known Pfas emissions from the site.

“To
me this highlights a key limitation of the current testing regime,” he
said. “Any contaminated land investigation should carefully consider the
source, receptor and pathway. There are over 7m potential Pfas – just
focusing an assessment on a handful of commonly detected Pfas is not
appropriate. Instead it should focus on the specific Pfas that are
originating from the source – this includes EEA-NH4 and H-PFCAs.”

Prof
Hans Peter Arp, a Pfas expert at the Norwegian Institute of Science and
Technology, said: “Considering all 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
factories.

“This is not just a UK problem but a
global one. We need stronger monitoring of total Pfas, not just known
substances like EEA-NH4, but residuals too. Citizens, who often bear the
health and remediation costs, need to know how much Pfas is being
released so polluters can be held responsible and a transition to zero
Pfas emissions can begin.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/19/environment-agency-pfas-forever-chemicals-lancashire-wyre