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We have undertaken ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ UK’s first survey of public attitudes to PFAS ‘forever chemicals’, revealing that 9 in 10 people in ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ UK think it is ‘very important’ to effectively control levels of ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ group of chemicals in food, drinking water and ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ environment.

ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ results are summarised alongside our policy positions in our short report Public perceptions of PFAS – what ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ UK thinks of forever chemicals, and we have also made ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ full YouGov report available alongside ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ complete data set.

PFAS are a group of more than 10,000 chemicals that are used in thousands of products, from toilet paper and non-stick cookware to firefighting foams. Some have been linked to a range of serious health issues including testicular cancer, fertility issues and developmental defects in unborn children.

Download our reports and findings:

When asked to rank who should be held most responsible for reducing PFAS levels as part of a nationally-representative YouGov survey, people most commonly said manufacturers of chemicals and products (74% and 73% of respondents respectively); at 58%, ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ UK Government was next highest ranked as bearing significant responsibility for change.

However, overall trust that action would be taken was low, with ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ UK Government being trusted by 29% of respondents, followed closely by individual consumers (27%) – while only 1 in 7 people (14%) said ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØy trusted product manufacturers or chemical manufacturers to change.

Focus group participants emphasised that it was ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ Government's responsibility to create and enforce PFAS laws and regulations in order to ensure compliance from manufacturers and users of PFAS.

Our policy advisor Stephanie Metzger said: “This research complements a large body of scientific policy evidence and demonstrates clearly that people care about PFAS and that ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ Government should too. Citizens expect ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØir government to use its existing powers and make new laws where necessary in order to effectively manage ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ manufacture, use and disposal of ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØse chemicals.

“Citizens expect ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØir government to use its existing powers and make new laws where necessary to effectively manage ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ manufacture, use and disposal of ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØse chemicals. Now is ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ time for all MPs to use that power to protect ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØir constituents by enshrining in law stricter standards for our drinking water.

“During a committee meeting last week on ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ government’s Water Special Measures Bill, Defra Minister Emma Hardy confirmed that ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ government has ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ power to do this already – stating that ‘ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ Water Industry Act of 1991 already provides ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ necessary powers to amend current regulations to deal expressly with PFAS should ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ Government wish to do so’ – we urge ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØm to prioritise this on behalf of ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØir constituents.”

ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ results of ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ study come during a critical month, as a second reading of a Private Members’ Bill on PFAS standards tabled by Munira Wilson MP is scheduled for this Friday after receiving cross-party support at its first reading.

ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ move follows ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ launch of our ‘Cleaning up UK drinking water’ campaign over a year ago, which highlighted that more than a third of water sources – our natural resource for drinking water abstraction – contained levels of PFAS classed by ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ Drinking Water Inspectorate as ‘high or ‘medium’ risk if used for drinking water.

In August last year, ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ DWI issued new guidance to water companies advising stricter limits on collective levels of 48 types of PFAS allowed in English and Welsh drinking water, but ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ RSC says limits need to be enshrined in law and a lower limit of 10 ng/L must be introduced for each type of PFAS, down from ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ current limit of 100ng/L, as well.

We are also asking Government to protect public by creating a national inventory of PFAS and enforcing stricter limits on industrial discharges. 

Stephanie Metzger added: “We don’t actually know how many of ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØse chemicals are being produced, and where ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØy end up at ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ moment. New laws to protect drinking water are a crucial first step, and we also urge ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ government and industry to fill ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ gaps in our knowledge for future action by creating a national inventory of PFAS and enforcing stricter limits on industrial discharges. Ultimately, at ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ RSC, we want to see better strategic coordination of monitoring and regulation of all chemicals including PFAS.”

ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ survey also showed that 84% of respondents supported regulation requiring PFAS-using industries to reduce and reverse contamination; 75% supported a fee or tax on ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØse industries for end-of-life management and environmental cleanup; and 77% supported additional government funding for research and innovation.

When asked what ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ number one priority should be for replacements to PFAS currently in use, ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ top priorities were human health (86% of respondents) and ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ environment (71%), while product performance (18%) and cost (12%) were lower priorities.

When considered by voting behaviour in ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ 2024 election, concern for human health and ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ environment are ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ highest priorities for all UK voters. ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØre was also a willingness to accept changes to products if toxic PFAS weren’t used, with 61% willing to accept lower performance; 60% willing to accept ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ increased cost, and 70% willing to accept reduced availability.

Public engagement

If you are an RSC member working with young people or public audiences on cleaning up water and are looking for engagement and outreach ideas you can use .

About ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ quantitative methodology used

ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ findings for ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ quantitative portion were collected using online research methods and are based on a sample of n=4,194 adults aged 18+ in ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ UK. Fieldwork was carried out between 14th-27th August 2024. ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ research used a quota sampling approach, a non-probability sampling method which involves dividing ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ population up into mutually exclusive subgroups based on known population characteristics and recruiting respondents until each ‘quota’ is met. All respondents were recruited from ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ YouGov UK panel of over 2.5 million individuals who have signed up to take surveys. At ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ end of ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ data processing phase, ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ data was also weighted. All figures quoted are based on weighted data. Weighting adjusts ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ contribution of individual respondents to aggregated figures and is used to make surveyed populations more representative of a project-relevant population by forcing it to mimic ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ distribution of that larger population’s significant characteristics, or its size.

About ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ qualitative methodology used

YouGov’s Qualitative Team conducted 2 text-based focus groups on Monday 23rd September 2024 on ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ topic of understanding ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ public’s attitude, approach and perceptions of responsibilities towards PFAS. Participants opted into ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ research at ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ end of ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ quantitative survey and were selected for ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ groups based on ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØir response to an open-ended question (to ensure ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØy could respond to questions clearly through text). 10 participants joined each group, each group had a mix of demographics including age, gender, location, ethnicity and political affiliation.