PFOS contaminated soil (FOI)

​​Request 685655105

In 2009 PFOS was listed under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants for being persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic, and capable of long-range transport. It is linked to liver damage, immune suppression, developmental harm, cancer, and environmental contamination.

I request the following information:

1 - In what year was it first acknowledged that PFOS had contaminated Jersey’s soil and groundwater in these three distinct locations:

a) The airport firefighting training ground?

b) The site of the Citation aviation crash in St Peter’s?

c) The Pont Marquet Water Catchment Area? 

2 - Given the potential for PFOS pollution to spread across the island via groundwater, what does the current Environment Department considered a reasonable timeframe for effective and complete clean-up?

Relevant Legal Context

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that failing to address pollution violates human rights, holding states accountable under the European Convention on Human Rights. Full details can be found here:

https://www.edie.net/not-tackling-pollution-is-a-human-rights-violation-eu-court-rules/

Key implications of this ruling:

State Responsibility – Governments must act to protect citizens from pollution-related harm.

Legal Precedent – Citizens can challenge environmental negligence in court.

Policy Enforcement – Stronger monitoring and intervention are now a legal duty.

Transparency – States must provide clear information on environmental risks.

Given this ruling, I seek confirmation on the steps taken to address PFOS contamination in Jersey and whether the government is acting in line with its human rights obligations.

Supporting References:

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2009): https://www.pops.int

BAAA Aviation Report on Citation Crash: https://www.baaa-acro.com/sites/default/files/2019-11/G-BPCP.pdf

Response

1

The dates that it was first acknowledged that PFOS had contaminated Jersey’s soil and groundwater are shown below: 

a) Airport firefighting training ground in 1993

b) Citation aviation crash in St Peter’s in 2022 (Acknowledging that the use of foam was included in the Air Accident report of 1980)  

c) The Pont Marquet Water Catchment Area in 2019. Additional information can be found within the report linked below (on Page 35) 

R PFOS Technical Group 20190712.pdf​

2

Whilst there is no evidence of PFOS spreading across Island groundwater beyond the specific plume areas in proximity to the Airport, the information requested will be included within the Hydrogeological survey report that will be published on www.gov.je  in Quarter 2 2025, therefore the information requested is exempt under Article 36 (Future Publication) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

Article 36 is a qualified exemption; therefore, a public interest test has been applied and is shown at the end of this response

Article applied

Article 36 - Information intended for future publication

(1) Information is qualified exempt information if, at the time when the request for the

information is made, the information is being held by a public authority with a view to its being published within 12 weeks of the date of the request.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground

must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant –

(a) of the date when the information will be published;

(b) of the manner in which it will be published; and

(c) by whom it will be published.

Public Interest Test 

Article 36 is a qualified exemption, which means that a public interest test has to be undertaken to examine the circumstances of the case and decide whether, on balance, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. 

Public interest considerations favouring disclosure 

• disclosure of the information would support transparency and promote accountability to the general public. 

Public interest considerations favouring withholding the information

• It is intended to publish data within 12 weeks of the receipt of this request on www.opendata.gov.je. The information is currently being collated prior to publication and therefore it is not possible to release it at this stage. ​