Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of chemical pollutants in water bodies on human health and the environment.

The Environment Agency (EA) undertakes extensive environmental monitoring. This monitoring supports the assessment of both current water quality status and longer-term trends, including the identification of substances causing failures of environmental standards. The EA is expanding its science and evidence base, through programmes focused on emerging chemicals and substances of concern. These programmes aim to improve understanding of sources, pathways, environmental behaviour, and potential impacts, including the effects of mixtures of chemicals and long-term exposure.

Commissioned by Defra, the Public Health Water Taskforce is a scientific and technical advisory group, considering the public health risks associated with poor drinking and recreational water quality, including chemical pollutants, and opportunities for mitigation.