POISONING FOR PROFIT: Fury as government’s “forever chemicals” plan sells out public health to big business

Ministers are accused of turning a blind eye as toxic “forever chemicals” seep into our water, food and bodies—the weak action plan protects corporate profits while ordinary families pay the price

Brace yourselves—the British public is being slow-cooked by the government like frogs in a pot, thanks to a shockingly weak action plan on toxic chemicals that threatens the health of every man, woman and child.

That’s the scorching verdict from environmental campaigners after ministers unveiled their so-called PFAS strategy—a document widely denounced as little more than a fig leaf to cover up a scandalous betrayal.

Forever chemicals

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of industrial chemicals now found in the blood of virtually everyone on Earth and linked to multiple cancers and lifelong health damage. They’re used in everyday products from waterproof jackets to frying pans—and thanks to their indestructible chemical structure, they never break down, earning them the terrifying nickname “forever chemicals.”

But instead of taking the decisive, pre-emptive action seen in France and Denmark—where PFAS are being struck off store shelves for some products—the UK Government’s plan amounts to a cosy handshake with industry and a licence to pollute at minimal cost. Critics say it knocks the urgent dangers into the long grass, leaving families dependent on bottled water, bottled trust and bottled hope.

Roadmap to nowhere

Campaigners are outraged, saying ministers have produced little more than a “roadmap to nowhere”. There are no binding phase-outs, no deadlines to end dangerous uses, no real penalties for big polluters, and no commitment to follow the sweeping bans being pursued across the Channel. Instead, we get promises of more “monitoring”, consultations, pilot programmes and “frameworks”—bureaucratic wallpaper desperately thin against a chemical crisis.

“The roadmap leaves nature and consumers exposed to forever chemicals at the expense of environmental and human health, does nothing to make polluters pay, and lets the UK drift even further behind other countries,” said Wildlife and Countryside Link, ripping into ministers for ducking hard decisions and protecting industrial profits instead of public safety.

Colossal blind spot

Scientists are equally scathing. One expert noted the government still doesn’t know how much of these toxins are entering the environment—a colossal blind spot that means the entire strategy could falter before it even begins. Simply measuring concentrations, they argue, will not stop PFAS from accumulating in rivers, wildlife and human tissue for decades yet to come.

Meanwhile, recent tests show that almost all English waterways tested for these chemicals would fail even proposed safety limits and PFAS have been detected in the organs of dolphins, otters and birds across the UK.

Forever profit before people

The government insists it has delivered a “clear framework” to protect public health. But with ministers refusing to adopt binding bans and continuing to prioritise industry over citizens, many fear the real plan is to let the poison keep flowing while profit margins stay healthy.

In the end, this half-arsed strategy could go down in history not as serious environmental protection, but as the day Westminster sold out the nation’s health to safeguard big business—and left the British public to choke on the consequences.