Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), referring to over 10,000 chemicals used in a wide variety of consumer and industrial products, are a pervasive issue across the environment. There has been increasing concern about their environmental and potential health impacts, given their ubiquity in groundwater, surface water and soils. One area that is currently less well understood is PFAS emissions to air. In this upcoming panel discussion, we will explore the challenge of PFAS across land, air and water, with an expert panel sharing insights on PFAS in air and waste, and the implications this has for soil and water. Our speakers represent a diverse range of perspectives and expertise, with the event bringing together representatives from the Land Condition Community, Foundation for Water Research (FWR) and Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM).

This event builds on thinking recently outlined in the IAQM’s Insights Article on PFAS emissions in air, in which authors Sarah Horrocks and Dan Maher considered what can be learned from the approach laid out in the recent IAQM guidance on air quality monitoring for brownfield projects in terms of management and monitoring of PFAS.

After speakers have delivered presentations on the impacts of PFAS in their respective fields, a panel discussion will be held to reflect on the links between specialisms, how collaboration can help solve the challenge of PFAS management, and where the interfaces are between land, air and water in terms of PFAS mobility.

This event is free to IES members, with a fee of £40 for non-members. You will be contacted after booking should your attendance require payment.

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Presentation topics

• PFAS in our Drinking Water: risks and regulatory response. This presentation from Prof. Chad Staddon, will summarise current scientific knowledge about prevalence of PFAS in sources of drinking water, associations with potential health impacts and regulatory responses. The key message to take away is that while there is strong consensus about prevalence and associations with health impact (but not causal mechanisms) national regulatory responses have been highly variable. The presentation will draw on Prof. Staddon et al’s recent review: “Forever Chemicals in Our Water!”: Prevalence of PFAS in Drinking Water, Associated Health Risks, and Approaches to Regulation.
• Measurement of PFAS in UK ambient air using selected sites from the Defra/EA Toxic Organic Micropollutants Network, delivered by Andy Sweetman. There are currently few data on PFAS in UK ambient air with most of the monitoring activity focussing on surface and groundwaters. A pilot study was carried out at selected Toxic Organic Micropollutants Network (TOMPs) sites over the period from June to September 2025 with analytical work carried out by Stockholm University. Funding for the study came from the Defra Multimedia Emission Inventory contract. Although a primary focus of the pilot study was on long-chain PFCAs (C9-C12), as they are newly added to the Stockholm Convention, it was clear that PFBA was the most abundant PFAS, followed by PFOA. Long-chain PFCAs were present and accounted for 8% of the total (C4-C13) for High Muffles (North Yorkshire), 17% for Manchester and 20% for Hazelrigg (Lancaster). These data will be discussed in the context on sources, along with findings from a previous study carried which focused on diffuse emissions from a local fluoropolymer production facility.
• Towards Regulatory Readiness: Building the Evidence Base for Airborne PFAS Regulation. This presentation will provide an overview of the Environment Agency’s work to improve understanding of airborne PFAS, including; (i) the development of environmental assessment levels and (ii) reviews to better understand (a) the characteristics of airborne PFAS emissions from regulated facilities and (b) methods for monitoring and evaluating airborne PFAS. It will highlight how emerging research is helping to address key evidence gaps and support future regulatory and risk assessment needs.

More presentations to be announced.

Our Chair

Dan Maher is a contaminated land professional with over 18 years’ experience in environmental regulation and consultancy. He is a chartered scientist with the Institution of Environmental Sciences. He spent over a decade working as a Local Authority regulator, which has given him significant expertise in navigating the framework of regulation around contaminated land in the UK, as well as developing skills in human health risk assessment, site conceptualisation and data gap assessment. Since moving to consultancy, Dan has worked on a variety of high-profile projects, with an increasing focus on managing PFAS liability on permitted sites across the UK.

Our speakers

Professor Chad Staddon is an internationally recognised water management scholar whose work advances understanding of drinking water safety, urban water security and resilient water governance. His research examines how institutions, infrastructure and communities shape safe, reliable water provision, with particular attention to risk, inequality, public health and sustainable water futures.

Andy Sweetman is a Reader of Environmental Chemistry at Lancaster University, with over thirty years research experience working both for a water industry based environmental consultancy and in research-based academia. His primary research involves investigation into the fate and behaviour of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and emerging contaminants on UK, European and global scales. He has led many sampling, analysis and modelling projects, including work to sample 40 PFAS in air as part of the work under the Defra POPs Multimedia Emissions Inventory project. He also manages the UK Toxic Organic Micro-Pollutants Network which provides Defra and the Environment Agency with long term ambient air monitoring data for POPs in support of obligations under the Stockholm Convention. Andy is also CoI on a current UKRI grant quantifying PFAS on a catchment scale which addresses sources, fate and impacts.

Dr Pippa Douglas is a Principal Air Quality Scientist within the Environment Agency’s Chief Scientist’s Group, where she leads research on emerging air pollutants, including PFAS, bioaerosols and microplastics. She has over 15 years’ experience in environmental public health and environmental epidemiology, in academia, UKHSA and now the Environment Agency. She holds honorary senior lectureships at the University of Leicester and the University of Essex.

More speakers to be announced.

Image credit: Peter Togel via Adobe Stock