PFAS: A Persistent Challenge That Requires Shared Responsibility and Long-Term Thinking
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- 17 jun 2025
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June 4, 2025
On 4 June 2025, at the Drinking Water Quality Conference in Birmingham, one topic stood out with increasing urgency: PFAS.
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are now detected across the entire living environment: in drinking water, food, air, soil and consumer products. These substances are persistent, mobile, and bioaccumulative. They build up in ecosystems and in our bodies, and cannot be ignored.
More than 10,000 PFAS types are already known, but recent studies suggest that over 7 million chemical structures could fall within the PFAS definition. Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37871188/ Regulation has not kept up. Current norms cover only a limited subset, and analytical capabilities still struggle to match what is required. In some cases, detection limits are already at the same level as legal standards, which makes enforcement and reliable decision-making extremely difficult.
One recurring message during the conference was that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. PFAS vary in chain length, polarity, hydrophobicity, acidity and molecular weight. This diversity means that different PFAS respond very differently to treatment. A multiple-step approach is essential, combining technologies that complement one another depending on PFAS type, concentration and context.
Conventional treatment methods such as granular activated carbon, ion exchange, reverse osmosis and advanced coagulation remain important, especially as part of pre-treatment strategies. Meanwhile, a number of innovative technologies are showing promise for actual PFAS destruction. These include sonolysis, where sound-induced bubble collapse initiates molecular breakdown, as well as supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) and electro-oxidation. While encouraging, these technologies often have high energy demands and generate complex residuals, and their effectiveness can vary by PFAS type.
In all cases, source protection remains one of the most effective interventions. Once PFAS reach drinking water treatment facilities, options are reactive, expensive and often result in the relocation rather than elimination of the problem. Upstream control and preventive product policy are crucial.
There is also growing concern about how different approval frameworks treat PFAS. For example, PFAS-containing pesticides can in some cases be authorised without comprehensive health testing, or with limited toxicological data, whereas pharmaceuticals are subject to the strictest approval regimes. One would expect that substances intended for deliberate environmental release be held to at least the same level of scrutiny.
Alongside technical challenges, the societal and communicative aspects of PFAS play a major role. Water companies are increasingly expected to provide solutions, despite having little or no control over the production or use of PFAS in upstream sectors. At the same time, consumer-based solutions such as household filters are growing in popularity, though they raise concerns about effectiveness, hygiene and unregulated disposal. Public awareness is rising, but there is still a significant information gap.
A truly holistic response to the PFAS crisis must therefore also consider the ecological impact of PFAS on aquatic and soil ecosystems, ensure that the costs of mitigation are distributed fairly, and stimulate preventive measures such as product redesign and more sustainable consumption patterns.
What we need going forward is coordinated and science-based action. The conference highlighted calls for national and European PFAS roadmaps that include binding regulatory standards, clear producer responsibility for clean-up and long-term monitoring, transparent public access to PFAS data in water, soil and food, and investments in both safe alternatives and destruction technologies.
Take-home message: destruction, not dilution, is the goal. But getting there requires systemic change, political will, long-term funding and international collaboration. PFAS compounds behave differently and require tailored solutions. There is no silver bullet. And ultimately, we must ask ourselves who will bear the cost of decades of PFAS production and use. The water sector cannot and should not carry that burden alone.
This is not just a technical challenge. It is a societal test of how we deal with legacy pollution, uncertainty and shared responsibility.
A big thank you to Utility Week for organising an excellent PFAS workshop and creating space for open, constructive dialogue across the sector.
More about the event: https://event.utilityweek.co.uk/drinking2025
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