PFAS plan sets three pillars for action
A UK government policy paper has been published setting out a framework for managing PFAS risks across society and the environment.
The UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) published the policy paper, titled PFAS Plan: building a safer future together, updated 3 February 2026.
The plan is structured around three pillars: understanding PFAS sources, tackling PFAS pathways, and reducing ongoing exposure to PFAS.
PFAS are described as a group of thousands of chemicals, with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) definition used to guide the actions in the plan.
The paper identifies widespread use across sectors including firefighting foams, medical devices, textiles, packaging, construction and electronics manufacture.
Emma Hardy MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Water and Flooding), said: “Together, we can take a coordinated approach to make sure that ‘forever chemicals’ are not a forever problem.”
Monitoring, mapping and research actions
PFAS have been found in remote parts of the globe such as Antarctica.
They are characterised as highly mobile, persistent, and able to accumulate in soils, plants and animals, particularly in aquatic environments.
Monitoring data shows PFAS present in approximately 80% of surface water samples, approximately 50% of groundwater samples, and all fish samples.
English water companies carried out more than 770,000 analyses for individual PFAS in 2024 to inform drinking water assessments.
The plan commits to continuing annual monitoring of 2,400 PFAS samples from the freshwater environment in England.
In Scotland, annual monitoring will continue with an expanded network from around 300 samples in 2025 to 500 samples in 2026.
By the end of 2026, the Environment Agency’s PFAS multicriteria Geographic Information System (GIS) prioritisation map is to be made available to all public sector bodies across England, with the option of a dedicated interactive website by the end of 2027.
Soil monitoring will be strengthened through a British Geological Survey feasibility study and pilot sampling at a minimum of five representative locations across England.
A multi-year assessment of PFAS contamination in estuarine and coastal environments in England is due by February 2028, based on targeted sampling and analysis of sediment, fish and benthic invertebrates.
The government will also consider adding further PFAS to the UK Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR), following an industrial emissions consultation published in August 2025.
Regulation, foams and exposure measures
The UK’s obligations under the UN Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) include prohibitions on PFOS, PFOA and PFHxS, including their salts and related compounds.
Following a May 2025 convention-level agreement to list additional PFAS for global elimination, particularly long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (LC-PFCAs), the government is determining how to implement this domestically.
A proposed UK REACH restriction on PFAS in firefighting foams is currently under consultation.
Once the Health and Safety Executive has published its final opinion, a ministerial decision will be taken on whether to implement the restriction, with devolved government consent.
On exposure, the plan identifies multiple pathways including diet, drinking water, indoor dust and skin contact.
The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment is undertaking an independent review of PFAS, including whether different PFAS can be assessed together and whether health-based guidance values can be set.
The Food Standards Agency is working with the National Reference Laboratory to develop and validate PFAS tests for food, alongside ongoing monitoring of PFAS in food contact materials.
In Scotland, a statutory drinking water standard of 0.1 µg per litre for the sum of 20 named PFAS compounds has been in place since 1 January 2023.
In England and Wales, updated Drinking Water Inspectorate guidance requires monitoring of 48 named PFAS, with concentrations at or above 0.1 µg per litre reported as a water quality event requiring action.
The government will consult on introducing a statutory PFAS limit for England’s public water supply.
Further actions cover industrial emissions, including new cross-sector guidance for regulators and operators on PFAS handling, monitoring and disposal, and the development of environmental thresholds for emissions to air, land and water.
On waste and legacy contamination, the plan commits to further work on PFAS in landfill and waste routes, and a national framework to prioritise sites affected by historic PFAS pollution.
The plan is described as a first step, with implementation to be reviewed through the statutory Environment Improvement Plan reporting cycle.