Toxic ‘forever chemical’ linked to reproductive harm found in almost all rivers and groundwater tested in England

A highly persistent ‘forever chemical’ linked to reproductive harm has been found in virtually all rivers and groundwater tested in England. This is according to Environment Agency data obtained through Freedom of Information by investigative journalists from Unearthed and Watershed.

The Environment Agency (EA) tested for trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in groundwater for the first time, finding the chemical in 43 out of 49 samples taken. TFA was also present in all 50 surface water samples tested by the EA, echoing findings from a University of York and Fidra study last year. Testing on the effects of TFA in animals has indicated that it could impair fertility and harm babies in the womb.

No specific limits for TFA in surface water or groundwater currently exist in the EU or UK. However, the EU sets a 100 ng/L groundwater limit for certain pesticide breakdown products, which TFA can be. Of the 49 groundwater samples tested, 42 were above this level and 28 exceeded 1,000 ng/L. The highest concentration was 10,202 ng/L in groundwater near Finchingfield in Essex, comparable with levels described as “exceptionally high” by Swiss authorities. 

Of the surface-water readings, the highest was 6,412 ng/L in the River Ancholme in Lincolnshire. Although the number of test locations were limited and not nationally representative, the highest readings of TFA were as follows: 

• River Ancholme in Lincolnshire: 6,412 ng/L
• Mardyke in Essex: 6,093 ng/L
• River Witham in Lincolnshire: 6,067 ng/L
• New Bedford River meeting the River Great Ouse in Cambridgeshire: 5,830 ng/L
• River Gipping in Suffolk: 5,771 ng/L

The reading from the River Ancholme is nearly three times the level (2,200 ng/L) that would breach the EU’s new limit for PFAS in rivers and lakes if TFA were the only PFAS present. Currently TFA is included as part of a group of 25 PFAS for which the EU has set a surface water standard.[1]

TFA is a type of PFAS, a family of highly persistent man-made chemicals. It is produced when other fluorinated chemicals, including some pesticides, refrigerants and industrial chemicals, break down. Animal studies prompted the EU chemicals agency in June to recommend TFA be classified as toxic to reproduction. In July, the European Food Safety Authority also significantly lowered its health-based tolerable daily intake limits. 

TFA’s extreme persistence means it can remain in rivers, soils and plants for hundreds of years, creating a growing burden of pollution for wildlife and the ecosystems they depend on.

Among the surface waters tested were five rivers designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest. These included the River Idle Washlands in Nottinghamshire, where samples showed TFA levels at 3,301 ng/L, and the River Wensum in Norfolk – a rare chalk river habitat, supporting more than 100 plant species and a rich variety of wildlife – where levels were recorded at 1,800ng/L.

Professor Hans Peter Arp, an environmental chemist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and an expert on TFA, said the Environment Agency results were among the worst sets of data he had seen: “The TFA that is on the Earth today will be on the Earth for the next thousand years, and the TFA concentrations we see now are probably the lowest we’ll see in your lifetime…

“Groundwater has always been viewed as a source of clean [drinking] water. When, for instance, your lake becomes polluted, it was always the Plan B. So when I see that groundwater is starting to be polluted, it just means that there’s not a Plan B.”

TFA is not effectively removed using commonly applied water treatment processes and scientists have warned that concentrations will continue to rise unless emissions are tackled at source.

The chemical is formed from PFAS pesticides, including the herbicide flufenacet, which remains widely used on crops such as wheat and barley in Britain, despite no longer being approved in the EU, in part because of concerns that it could contaminate groundwater with TFA.

Nina Schrank, Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: “These results are alarming to say the least. A toxic chemical linked to reproductive harm, and so persistent that today’s pollution could remain in our environment for generations, is already widespread in England’s rivers and groundwater. 

“The government needs to tackle this dangerous pollution urgently and at source. The EU is already ahead of the UK in considering safe limits for TFA and ministers mustn’t let us fall behind. This data is also evidence enough for immediate action: properly support farmers with the funding and advice they need to reduce pesticide use, and tackle other chemicals that break down into TFA now.

“We cannot sit back and allow further contamination to build up year after year.” 

Ends

Notes to editors:

The full Unearthed/Watershed investigation is available here and the full data set is available on request.

Interactive map of the Environment Agency results: https://watershedinvestigations.com 

[1] TFA is included in the latest update to the EU Water Framework Directive as part of an Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) covering a group of 25 PFAS. The annual-average EQS for inland surface waters is 0.0044 µg/L expressed as PFOA equivalents. TFA has a relative potency factor of 0.002, meaning that if TFA were the only PFAS present, the equivalent concentration would be 2,200 ng/L. This is not a standalone legal limit for TFA, and individual samples cannot by themselves establish a breach of an annual-average EQS. 

The legislation specifically highlights the need to consider a separate TFA standard at the next review: “For surface water, TFA should therefore be included in a sum of 25 PFAS with an EQS in Annex I to Directive 2008/105/EC. At the next review, the Commission should consider establishing a separate EQS for TFA in Annex I to Directive 2008/105/EC.”

For Groundwater, it states: “For groundwater, the Commission should also consider establishing a quality standard for TFA, whether separate or as a part of a sum.”
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32026L0805#ntc26-L_202600805EN.006301-E0026