Firm releases almost 800kg of ‘forever chemical’ a year into Lancashire river
A chemicals company is releasing large quantities of a “forever chemical” described as being “very persistent, mobile and toxic” into the River Wyre in Lancashire each year, and is not breaking any rules.
Earlier this year, the Guardian and Watershed Investigations revealed that effluent coming from the site of AGC Chemicals Europe in Thornton-Cleveleys could contain about 700 types of perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS).
PFAS is an umbrella term for thousands of human-made substances known as “forever chemicals” because they will not break down in the environment for thousands of years. Some are also known to be toxic and can accumulate in the human body.
The Environment Agency has now released its evaluation of a PFAS known as EEA-NH4 that was found in the effluent, and said it was “very persistent” and “mobile” in the environment, as well as “toxic” because it was classified as “reprotoxic category 2”, meaning there was evidence to suggest it could disrupt sexual function, fertility and development in humans.
Using data supplied by AGC Chemicals Europe, including monitoring data and effluent volumes released into the River Wyre, the agency estimated that an average of about 783kg of EEA-NH4 is discharged into the river each year.
The report highlights multiple gaps in knowledge, including whether, as with many PFAS, the substance builds up in humans and animals. “It is not possible to draw a conclusion on the bioaccumulation potential of EEA-NH4 in air-breathing organisms in the absence of data on the human clearance time or better predictive methods,” it states.
Prof Ian Cousins, an environmental chemist at Stockholm University, said: “EEA-NH4 is very persistent and mobile similar to GenX used by
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