Forever Chemicals Suite
Perfluorooctyl sulphonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are man-made compounds that do not occur naturally in the environment. They are also extremely persistent and are major global contaminants.
The EPA in the US summarises PFOS and PFOA as being “part of a larger group of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)”. It adds that “PFASs, which are highly fluorinated aliphatic molecules, have been released to the environment through industrial manufacturing and through use and disposal of PFAS-containing products.” In the UK, Public Health England says they are “members of a chemical group known as perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs)”. Regardless of the chemical grouping, they are toxic.
Indeed, PFAS contamination and its risks have been in the spotlight recently with multiple instances of unsafe concentrations in parts of the UK. Residents of Thornton-Cleveleys in Lancashire were advised to avoid eating domestically produced eggs or egg-laying poultry due to historical contamination from a nearby chemical plant, the BBC reports.
Meanwhile, people in Bentham, North Yorkshire, have been found to have “alarming” levels of PFAS in their blood. According to The Guardian, the source is likely to be the Angus Fire factory, which legally produced PFAS-containing firefighting foam between 1976 and 2024. A 2024 Environment Agency report suggested that airborne emissions from the factory could be a likely pathway for the exposure in addition to that for direct employees of the plant. The report states that “aerial dispersal” from foam testing at the factory could lead to PFAS exposure for site workers and exposure to residents through the “consumption of allotment produce and produce grown within private gardens”. The probability of this happening, it adds, is considered “likely”.
Used in a variety of products - containers, clothing, carpets et cetera - as well as the photography and semiconductor industries, these compounds are heat-stable and resistant to breakdown. As such, they were widely used to provide protective coatings to textiles and leather. They were also used in some firefighting foams as per the Angus Fire factory. 3M and Dupont are among the best-known manufacturers of PFAS for use in their nonstick surface products such as Scotchgard, Teflon and food wrappers. However, their production was halted in 2002 and all their uses are now virtually prohibited throughout the EU.
According to the ChemTrust, PFAS “have been found in vegetables such as celery and tomatoes grown in contaminated soils.”
In terms of their potential impact on health, here are some excerpts from the EPA fact sheet:
- Human epidemiological studies found associations between PFOA exposure and high cholesterol, increased liver enzymes, decreased vaccination response, thyroid disorders, pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia, and cancer (testicular and kidney);
- PFOS and PFOA are toxic to laboratory animals, producing reproductive, developmental and systemic effects in laboratory tests;
- EPA found that there is suggestive evidence that PFOS and PFOA may cause cancer.
PFASs are incredibly prevalent and persistent in the environment, meaning that they stay in the soil and water for very long periods of time. Often referred to as “forever chemicals,” PFASs are immune to degradation, regardless of the environmental conditions. Natural breakdown over time is assumed to be virtually nonexistent.
SHIPPING INFO
We will send you a testing kit that includes small amber jars (these need to be filled right to the top because some of the elements we are testing for can interact with air) as well as instructions on how to take samples from your growing space. When you're done, place the full jars back in the box that will have a pre-paid postage label already affixed, seal it and pop the package into a Royal Mail post box or drop it off at a local post office.