The UK Health Security Agency will test blood and urine samples for PFAS, lead, arsenic and other substances to establish baseline exposure levels. The first results are expected in 2027.
The UK Health Security Agency has launched a study to measure PFAS and other chemicals in blood and urine samples collected through the Health Survey for England. It aims to establish baseline exposure levels that can help researchers understand what substances are present in the population and at what levels.
The agency recently published a review of research on PFAS and health outcomes. Its new study will also measure lead, arsenic, bisphenols, phthalates and flame retardants. The agency expects initial findings from its biomonitoring program in 2027.
The annual Health Survey for England covers people living in private households in England. It uses interviews and nurse visits, which can include blood and urine collection depending on the year’s focus.
PFAS are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, often called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down easily in the environment. They resist water, oil and heat and have been used in cookware, clothing and firefighting foams. They can enter the body after leaking into soil and waterways.
Bisphenols are industrial chemicals used to make plastics and epoxy resins. Phthalates are widely used to soften plastics, while flame retardants are added to materials such as plastics and textiles to prevent or slow flames.
Two PFAS, PFOA and PFOS, are already banned in the UK. Prolonged exposure to them can increase cancer risk, according to the World Health Organization, as reported by the BBC said. Other reported risks include higher cholesterol, lower antibody levels after childhood vaccinations, thyroid-related effects and lower birth weights.
Dr Edward Wynne-Evans, the agency’s director of radiation, chemicals, climate and environmental hazards, said important gaps remain in understanding what different exposure levels mean for an individual’s long-term health. He said the agency’s research, biomonitoring and evidence reviews aim to help address those questions. Detecting PFAS establishes their presence, but does not by itself establish that a person is ill or what their future risk will be.
Professor Tony Fletcher of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said before the study was announced that he believed low PFAS levels would be measurable in a random blood sample. He distinguished adverse effects associated with higher exposure in large populations from what he described as a low chance of an adverse effect for an individual. He advised stopping ongoing exposure to avoid long-term effects.
The agency does not recommend routine PFAS blood testing: it says there is no established clinical intervention linked to a particular blood level, and insufficient evidence to determine what action should follow a specific result. Alongside the study, the independent Committee on Toxicity is conducting a detailed review of evidence on PFAS and health effects.
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