London tap water contaminated by ‘forever’ chemicals

Samples of tap water were tested from three locations in the capital - Harrow, Heathrow and Battersea

(Rui Vieira/PA) (PA Wire)

London’s tap water is contaminated with “forever” chemicals that can pose a risk to human health, new analysis has revealed.

Samples of tap water were taken from three locations, Harrow Heathrow and Battersea, and were found to have chemicals including PFOA and PFOS, known as forever chemicals.

PFA chemicals, such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), have been linked to a wide range of ailments, including cancer, liver damage, reduced fertility and birth defects, according to multiple studies.

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) urged the government last year to overhaul drinking water standards after its analysis revealed that more than a third of water courses tested in England and Wales contain medium or high-risk levels of PFAs.

In a new investigation by Bluewater, a water purification firm, the three water samples were sent to an independent bio-analytical testing group.

In Harrow, the sample had a PFOS level of 14 nanograms a litre (ng/l), which would be 1.4 times the maximum limit for its presence in tap water under proposals put forward by the RSC.

The Heathrow and Battersea samples also had “worrying levels” of PFOA and PFOS contaminants. The level of harmful PFAs detected in all the samples exceeded Sweden’s regularity limits by 550 per cent.

Bluewater’s chief research scientist, Dr Ahmed Fawzy, said: “The results of the study are deeply disturbing.

“Discovering PFAS-related chemicals in London‘s drinking water at such high levels raises serious health concerns that require immediate attention as they exceed thresholds that consumer protection bodies in the EU and US deem harmful to human health.”

Dr Fawzy said that Britain’s current PFAs thresholds are “confusing” and that they should be re-evaluated and tightened from the current level of 100ng/l to 10ng/l. This is in line with the RSC’s recommendation from last year.

Stephanie Metzger, policy advisor at the Royal Society of Chemistry, said: “Here in the UK, we monitor for a long list of PFAS, but we’re lagging far behind the US and the EU when it comes to the amount allowed in our drinking water and what is considered healthy.

“We know that PFAS can be filtered from drinking water – the technology exists, so increasing the level of filtration is just a matter of expense and political will.

“In the Drinking Water Inspectorate’s own words, levels above 10 nanograms per litre pose a medium or high risk to public health. We’re seeing more and more studies that link PFAS to a range of very serious medical conditions, and so we urgently need a new approach for the sake of public health.”

PFAs are used in a multitude of products such as non-stick coatings to pans, batteries, cosmetics and clothes.