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Former Defra minister tried to block the Environment Agency’s release of sewage data.
8 August 2024
Main image: Langstone Harbour
A new study has revealed significant increases in synthetic chemicals used in homeware products in a highly protected marine area following sewage discharges.
The University of Portsmouth and the Marine Conservation Society have found that sewage discharges are contributing significantly to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in marine environments.
PFAS are a complex group of nearly 15,000 synthetic substances that have been used in consumer products around the world since the 1950s.
They keep food from sticking to packaging or cookware, make clothes and carpets resistant to stains and are found in firefighting foam.
PFAS – which some will recognise from the Hollywood movie Dark Waters – are known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they don’t break down easily in the environment.
They have been linked to adverse effects on human health and wildlife.
PFAS can enter wastewater through washing up, using cleaning products, removing cosmetics and many other day-to-day activities.
The research focused on Langstone Harbour, Hampshire which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The area is home to harbour seals and a diverse range of birds.
A team from the University’s Institute of Marine Sciences collected seawater samples before and after sewage discharges from a storm overflow at the Budds Farm wastewater treatment plant, which services over 400,000 people.
Untreated sewage is known to contain a cocktail of contaminants such as bacteria, viruses, nutrients, harmful chemicals and microplastics.
However, little information is known about the level of PFAS in these discharges, because there are no requirements for water companies to monitor the level of contaminants found in storm overflows.
In 2023, over 3.6 million hours of sewage discharge were recorded in England from storm overflows, showing the extent of this problem.
‘Given how much we now know about the extent to which sewage gets discharged into our rivers and seas, it is worrying to see these contaminants elevated in a coastal environment which could take decades to break down.
‘Unfortunately, it is unsurprising that these toxic compounds are detectable in our whales and dolphins.’
PROFESSOR ALEX FORD
Project lead, from the University’s School of the Environment and Life Sciences
The findings of the study, published in Chemosphere, revealed PFAS concentrations increased significantly after sewage discharges.
Eight different PFAS compounds were detected post-discharge, compared with just one detectable compound before the discharges.
Banned substances perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were also found at levels exceeding annual average environmental quality standards.
‘These findings underscore the need for an urgent ban on PFAS from all uses where there are alternatives.
‘PFAS are found in water and wildlife around the globe, from plankton to polar bears. These chemicals will impact us and the environment for generations to come.
‘We need the UK Government to properly protect our environment from this preventable pollution.’
DR FRANCESCA GINLEY
Co-author, chemicals policy and advocacy manager at the Marine Conservation Society
Samples also showed the amount of one particular PFAS called Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) in seaweed was over 6,000 times higher than the amount found in the surrounding water.
‘These seaweeds could potentially be acting as a reservoir for these forever chemicals around our coasts’, said Professor Ford. ‘High concentrations of PFAS compounds in macroalgae might be harmful for marine life which graze on seaweeds and as a result provide a trophic link up the food chain.’
Further research is needed to understand the long-term effects of PFAS on marine food chains and to develop effective strategies for reducing their presence in the environment.
Previous work by Professor Ford has demonstrated small shrimp-like crustaceans called amphipods which graze on seaweeds in Langstone Harbour have low sperm counts.
Research by the University of Portsmouth has shown that long-term exposure to PFOS in amphipods can result in reduced reproduction and increased infection by disease and parasites.
‘Toxicity studies in the laboratory and human epidemiological studies of those drinking PFAS contaminated water have highlighted these chemical compounds can impact the immune, nervous and reproductive systems as well as being carcinogenic and cause birth defects.
‘It is important that we get these chemicals banned as we are still seeing the impacts of persistent chemicals contaminants – like PCBs – impacting wildlife which were banned decades ago which is why it is so important we act faster.’
PROFESSOR ALEX FORD
Project lead, from the University’s School of the Environment and Life Sciences
The Marine Conservation Society is encouraging people to join over 100 organisations at the March for Clean Water in London on 03 November to demand that the UK Government takes immediate and decisive action to end the poisoning of our seas, rivers and lakes.
The University is also supporting the Solent Seascape Project, a multi-million-pound, collaborative five-year initiative to restore multiple habitats between the Isle of Wight and mainland England.
In partnership with 10 organisations, including Portsmouth, it is actively restoring and reconnecting critical coastal habitats and working with local communities to co-develop an ambitious recovery plan for the Solent.
Former Defra minister tried to block the Environment Agency’s release of sewage data.
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