Today the Environmental Audit Committee has published the
government's response to its report on regulating so-called
forever chemicals'.
In April, the Committee called for the government to allow only
essential uses of PFAS and to rapidly restrict PFAS from
non-essential consumer products such as food packaging, cookware
and school uniforms.
However, the government offers no new commitments on rapidly
restricting PFAS and says restricting PFAS to essential use only
presents additional complexities.
The government says it wants to enable industry to transition to
safer alternatives, but that it is waiting to see the results of
EU REACH decisions and will consider where essential-use
approaches have been helpful in other countries.
While there is plausible evidence that a risk of serious or
irreversible pollution could occur if PFAS emissions continue due
to their very high persistence, the government commits to no
further actions beyond those already set out in its PFAS Plan,
published in
February.
However, the government does say that it wants UK protections
against chemical regulation to align more closely and to reduce
unnecessary friction with the European Union, the UK's closest
trading partner.
Ministers cite constructive conversations with the EU at meetings
of environmental regulators, as well as the chemicals industry's
engagement with the EU, and say they are exploring opportunities
for technical exchanges on PFAS.
