THE Island will have to balance the cost of PFAS remediation – which could total hundreds of millions of pounds – with what taxpayers can afford, the Health Minister has said.
Deputy Tom Binet told a public meeting on Thursday that analysing the blood of every Islander for the group of chemicals, at around £100 a test, would therefore cost more than £10m – which many would prefer to be invested in healthcare and other essential services.
However, the minister said he supported ongoing testing and efforts to reduce the amount of the toxic ‘forever chemical’ in eligible Islanders’ blood.
Although the government is not funding Islandwide testing, it is backing testing and treatment for people who lived or worked in a ‘hotspot’ of PFAS contamination around the Airport and Pont Marquet catchment in St Brelade.
A clinic for people who qualify, the second to be run, begins on Monday, where medication found to reduce levels of the chemical in the body can be offered.
The meeting at St Brelade’s Parish Hall was held for the government to share its response to the draft recommendations of an independent panel of experts advising it on how to deal with PFAS contamination.
PFAS is a family of thousands of manmade carbon-based chemicals added to everyday items such as frying pans and outdoor clothing because of their ability to repel water, oil and heat.
However, it has been found that exposure to PFAS may be harmful to human health and the chemicals have been linked to such conditions as kidney cancer, high cholesterol and a reduced ability to fight infections.
The ‘hotspot’ of high contamination around the Airport, and beneath it in St Ouen’s Bay, was caused by firefighting foam sprayed at the Airport’s fire training ground over several decades, which then flowed into the environment.
The cost of PFAS remediation is likely to feature in a States debate next month, when the Assembly will be asked to approve a new legal limit for PFAS in mains drinking water, which will involve Jersey Water cutting the current level by two thirds within five years.
While Jersey Water is spending £2m over the next two years to fund pilot studies, the full cost of remediation to achieve the statutory limit, which has been recommended by the scientific panel, has yet to be determined.
While the government has said it will fund longer-term solutions, actual figures are yet to be determined, although some have been promised before the debate.
Deputy Binet warned: “PFAS spending could get completely out of control. How much tax are you prepared to pay?” He added that the full cost could be hundreds of millions of pounds.
The meeting on Thursday heard that the government “broadly supported” the scientific panel’s proposed PFAS levels in soil and water that – if reached – will trigger further investigation.
Asked who would be responsible for the ongoing monitoring of PFAS levels around the Island, the government’s head of regulation Kelly Whitehead said that had not yet been determined but would become clear when the scientific panel published its full report next month.
The meeting also heard that the government was in advanced discussions with Ports of Jersey about the taxpayer-owned authority applying for discharge permits, which would regulate the amount of PFAS flowing into water courses from Airport land.
PFAS levels from the fire training ground in the north-west of the aerodrome have fallen substantially since Ports stopped pumping groundwater from boreholes there into the Island’s foul water network.
The meeting was told that while PFAS had been found in high concentrations in the ‘plume area’ in St Ouen’s Bay, Jersey Royal and maincrop potatoes grown there were all below levels for concern, with only one exception which tested slightly higher.
