Seventeen airports in England have recorded elevated levels of toxic forever chemicals, known as PFAS, in ground and surface water samples, according to unpublished Environment Agency documents obtained by the Ends Report and the Guardian. In some cases, concentrations were thousands of times higher than proposed EU safe limits, raising concerns about potential risks to drinking water sources.
The highest total PFAS level was found at London Luton Airport, where a groundwater sample from a fire training lagoon contained 36,084 nanograms per litre (ng/l). This is more than 8,000 times higher than the EU’s proposed threshold of 4.4 ng/l for total PFAS in water. Among the specific chemicals detected were PFOS and PFOA, both banned and linked to cancer.
Four of the 17 airports are located within drinking water safeguard zones, including Farnborough Airport in Hampshire, where a sample contained 180 ng/l of PFOS, exceeding the Drinking Water Inspectorate’s guideline safe level of 100 ng/l for total PFAS. However, experts caution that elevated PFAS in groundwater does not necessarily mean drinking water is contaminated, as pathways must exist for pollution to reach water supplies.
Dr Patrick Byrne of Liverpool John Moores University noted that the risk to downstream receptors is unclear without establishing transport pathways. Dr Shubhi Sharma of Chem Trust called the high levels “extremely worrying” given that some PFAS are classified as carcinogenic by the World Health Organization. Dr Rob Collins of the Rivers Trust described the concentrations as “alarmingly high”.
A London Luton Airport spokesperson said the data came from preliminary screening and should not be considered statistically representative, adding that a long-term monitoring programme is under way. The trade association AirportsUK also commented, but no further details were provided.
