Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of long-term exposure to PFAS in drinking water on public health.

An evaluation of the evidence on polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) toxicity is ongoing through the Committee on Toxicity.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has contributed to an expert advisory group recommendation to the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) on the introduction of a regulatory limit of 0.1 micrograms per litre for the sum of 48 individual PFAS to protect public health. The Advisory Group Recommendations are available at the following link:

https://dwi-production-files.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/28110805/Recommendations-and-full-report-of-the-advisory-group-Dec-2024.pdf

This is in line with the recent DWI March 2025 Guidance. This will limit exposures through drinking water, and thus any potential impact. The Guidance is available at the following link:

https://dwi-production-files.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/24141825/DWI_PFAS-Guidance_Mar_2025.pdf