Plans to ship soil contaminated with PFOS from Guernsey to the UK for treatment highlight the huge financial and environmental costs of PFAS pollution, and why a comprehensive restriction of these forever chemicals is needed.

PFOS is a type of PFAS that was previously used in firefighting foams, amongst other uses. PFAS are a group of around 10,000 chemicals often referred to as ‘forever chemicals’ as they are highly persistent and take generations to break down in the environment. Exposure to some PFAS has been linked with adverse health impacts, including certain cancers, reduced fertility, and the disruption of the immune system. PFOS is classified by the World Health Organisation as possibly cancer-causing, and was restricted globally in 2009.

Plans have been announced to spend up to £16.5m to ship 15,000 tonnes of soil contaminated with PFOS from Guernsey to the UK for treatment. In 2012, the contaminated soil was excavated from areas around Guernsey airport and from the site of a freight plane crash. The soil was placed into “specially designed containment cells” within a mound at the airport’s entrance. However, there are now concerns about pollution risks. According to the BBC officials have said the measures were not a long-term solution, and a permanent solution is now needed.

This project emphasises the huge financial costs associated with PFAS pollution. While PFOS and a handful of other PFAS have been restricted, there are many more in use. Studies have estimated the high costs of addressing PFAS pollution in the UK and across Europe.

In 2023 the Forever Pollution Project showed that nearly 23,000 sites across Europe alone are contaminated with PFAS. In 2025, The Forever Lobbying Project revealed that it will cost €100 billion a year to clean up PFAS pollution in Europe, if emissions remain unrestricted. In the UK it is estimated that if emissions remain uncontrolled, the annual costs of cleaning up PFAS would be £9.9 billion annually. Even if all emissions stopped today, the annual clean-up cost would still be £428 million for the next 20 years.

Polluters should be held financially responsible for the eye-watering costs of PFAS clean-up, not the public.

CHEM Trust is calling for regulators to turn off the tap on PFAS. The EU is currently considering a universal PFAS restriction, which would apply to all PFAS and control pollution at the source once introduced. CHEM Trust supports this proposal and wants to see the UK adopt the same approach.  

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