About PFAS Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, are a group of man-made chemicals used in products to resist heat, oil, stains and water.
They're commonly used in:
clothing furniture adhesives food packaging heat resistant nonstick cooking surfaces insulation of electrical wire PFAS doesn’t happen naturally in the environment and are extremely persistent because they resist degradation processes. They are often referred to as forever chemicals.
Common members of the PFAS family include:
PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) PFHxS (perfluorohexane sulfonate) PFAS are in so many common products that it is widely believed that everyone has low levels of PFAS chemicals in their blood.
PFAS in Jersey PFAS are of particular interest in Jersey because of their presence in some borehole and wells.
Fire fighting foams that contained PFAS chemicals were historically used at Jersey Airport. This was before we better understood the environmental significance.
Private boreholes and wells in that area now contain PFAS.
Following this discovery, the Government of Jersey and Ports of Jersey have done sampling and associated remedial work. This work is still ongoing.
Most countries have now stopped using PFAS in firefighting foam: because of the potential harm on health, as a precautionary measure.
Officer Technical Group In February 2019, we established an Officer Technical Group. The group oversees a programme of work to understand more about levels of PFAS in water and implications these may have.
The group meets monthly and includes representatives from:
Environmental and Consumer Protection Natural Environment Public Health Jersey Water
Environmental research In December 2018 we began an investigation into PFAS levels in private water supplies in Jersey. We presented the initial findings and advice for those with private water supplies at public meetings.
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A number of recommendations in the Interim Reports focus on understanding the position, movement, future risk and options for clean up of two PFAS plumes in St Ouen's Bay and Pont Marquet areas of Jersey.
A hydrogeological survey of both these areas is being undertaken. Phase 1 represents the assessment of all historic sampling data and identification of future data needs and is now complete.
12 months of further data collection will begin in 2023. This includes groundwater and surface water sampling in order to create a comprehensive and accurate model of the PFAS plumes.
The Government of Jersey's Natural Environment team has sampled private boreholes and wells across the Island for PFAS alongside existing groundwater monitoring programmes. This will help ensure that the distribution outside of the airport, and any risk posed, is properly understood.
Ports of Jersey is surveying the airport inner perimeter to understand the spread of PFAS. This will inform whether there are any locations that have high levels and whether these are feeding into the St Ouen's Bay and Pont Marquet plumes.
All water testing is done to high standards to avoid cross contamination from the wide range of PFAS sources used in our daily lives. UK laboratories are currently able to test and report on an increasing number of PFAS chemicals. Natural Environment use the latest testing methods to keep at the forefront of this fast developing field.
PFAS levels in potatoes from St Ouen's bay In 2023, potatoes from St Ouen’s Bay were tested in an independent laboratory in the UK for PFAS levels.
The Government of Jersey’s Environmental and Consumer Protection team subsequently informed the field owner that they had no reason to believe that the tested potatoes were unsafe.
Water quality in Jersey 2024 Jersey Water's recent report shows that 99.95% of water samples across the island meet regulatory standards.
The data includes samples from:
treatment facilities
service reservoirs
residential taps
Of the total 14,851 samples tested in 2024, 8 did not meet the required standards, primarily at service reservoirs and customer taps. These were addressed without posing public health risks. Further details on water quality measures can be found on the full report.
Getting your water tested Testing for PFAS in water requires technical procedures. It is not part of the normal drinking water suite currently undertaken by the Government of Jersey Official Analyst.
If you want to have your private water supplies tested for PFAS contact Jersey Water . You'll need to pay a fee.
Health effects of PFAS There is increasing international concern and research about the health effects of PFAS exposure. This remains a relatively new area of human research. There is no international agreement about what a 'normal' level of PFAS in the blood is, or what level might be harmful for health.
Despite growing international interest, it is difficult to interpret the evidence between PFAS and human health impacts, for example:
This is an emerging field of knowledge; more international research will be necessary over the coming years to provide evidence that either supports or refutes what is understood currently It is difficult to determine the health impacts of environmental contaminants because of correlated exposures, the small relative risk of disease attributed to exposure, and because, for ethical reasons, randomised controlled trials cannot be conducted PFAS chemicals are everywhere, meaning that most populations are expected to have some level of PFAS in their blood Lack of evidence does not mean evidence of no effect; there may be other conditions associated with PFAS exposure but the scientific evidence is not yet available to draw firm conclusions. The PFAS Scientific Advisory Panel have published their report into the health effects of PFAS. They reviewed scientific literature and spoke to Islanders from the affected area around the airport, and researchers who work in this field.
The Panel reviewed the health literature for health conditions raised by affected Islanders and the researchers. They determined that the scientific literature suggests that there are health effects caused by PFAS following exposure incidents, such as that around Jersey airport.
In 2024, the World Health Organisation determined that PFOA is carcinogenic (i.e. causes cancer) and that PFOS is ‘possibly’ carcinogenic.
The Panel determined that the following health implications are ‘most likely’ to be affected by significant PFAS exposure:
Increased cholesterol Reduced vaccination efficiency in children Reduced duration of breastfeeding in exposed mothers The Panel determined that the following conditions are ‘probably’ affected by significant PFAS exposure:
Kidney cancer Testicular cancer Liver function More information can be found in the Panel’s
final Report 2 on health effects.
It remains good advice for people to avoid significant exposure to PFAS where possible, although complete avoidance of PFAS exposure would be very difficult as PFAS can be found in all societies worldwide.
Blood testing In 2022, one off blood testing was provided for a group of Islanders who may have been affected by the historic use of PFAS at the airport. The eligibility criteria included living (for one year) or working (for two years) in the plume area, and reporting regularly drinking water from a private supply (such as a borehole or well), and having at least 1 symptom that is consistent with the health concerns that are related to PFAS.
There are some significant challenges with blood testing for PFAS:
there is no scientific agreement or any standard methodology for interpreting blood results there are no internationally agreed clinical limits for 'normal' PFAS levels in blood there are a limited number of reference populations worldwide for comparison. We compared Jersey’s results to USA population data, which may have different background levels of PFAS and so may not be an ideal comparator
The results showed that some people had higher levels of PFAS in their blood compared to the reference population in the United States.
Results of blood testing for PFAS chemicals
The panel of international scientific experts will advise government on potential interventions to reduce PFAS in the blood, testing and re-testing, and environmental management.
PFAS Scientific Advisory Panel The PFAS Scientific Advisory Panel is an independent panel. It's made up of external experts recruited from a global pool of specialists in their field.
The panel is chaired by Dr Steve Hajioff who is independent of the government and PFAS research. This is to provide a robust and balanced overview to the work of the panel.
Purpose of the panel The purpose of the panel is to coordinate and provide expert advice on PFAS issues. This is to enable an effective and evidenced based approach to decision making, enabling a sound and informed response to PFAS matters on the Island.
The responsibilities and tasks of the panel are to:
agree a programme of work and timeline and deliver the reports as outlined below engage affected islanders' knowledge, expertise, and views into the work of the panel seek out and engage expert views from other professionals as required The panel members The panel is a small group of experts which includes:
Independent Chair, Dr Steve Hajioff Dr Tony Fletcher, PFAS and health expert and epidemiologist Professor Ian Cousins, PFAS and environment expert
The Chair is responsible for coordinating the panel.
The members of the panel may also call additional global experts to provide, for example, expert testimonies or clinical advice. Islanders will also be asked to provide expert testimonies to contribute to the evidence base.
Meetings
Meetings are held virtually. If you’d like to watch the live meeting or receive the recording, email publichealth@gov.je .
Engagement events for Islanders
A meeting will be held in January to:
launch the scope of Report 4: Environmental Management More information will be provided once the date, time and location has been confirmed.
Islander meeting notes and slides
Reports and documents Report launches will be in person, held in the Parish of St Peter and after 5pm where possible.
The panel will develop the following reports:
review of therapeutic phlebotomy such as having blood taken to reduce PFAS levels assessment of the impact of PFAS exposure on health clinical interventions and blood testing and re-testing environmental management updates on the previous reports
Drafts
Newsletters
To receive a copy of previous newsletters email RegulationEnquiries@gov.je .
Islander information
gov.je