“Forever chemicals” found in UK wildlife

UK wildlife, including otters, dolphins, porpoises, fish, and birds, have been found to carry toxic “forever chemicals” in their tissue and organs, according to an analysis of official data.

Artificial chemicals known as PFAS are also called forever chemicals because they do not degrade. They can be found in a range of consumer products and industrial processes and have been linked to diseases in humans and animals, including types of cancer. PFAS are also known to pollute water  and soils and are thought to be within the blood of all humans.

Watershed Investigations, the Marine Conservation Society, and the Guardian had looked at official data on over 1,000 animals and found widespread contamination by a range of PFAS, especially PFOS and PFOA. They have been banned because studies have shown them to be toxic. But there are over 10,000 types of “forever chemicals” and little is known about the majority of them.

Environmental quality standards say that no fish should have over 9 micrograms per kilogram in their tissue. This is to protect people who may eat the fish and predators who prey on them. But 12% have been found to exceed that figure with some having as much as 40 micrograms per kilogram.

Almost half of all animals sampled from many different species exceed the threshold. The limit is thought to be too high by many with the EU considering lowering it to just 0.077 micrograms per kg. If that were applied, 92% of animals would exceed it.

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