People living within 10 miles of Heathrow and Gatwick airports have been supplied with drinking water containing increased levels of toxic ‘forever chemicals’ known as PFAS, openDemocracy can reveal.
SES Water, which supplies customers to the north of Gatwick, admitted in documents obtained under the UK’s Environmental Information Regulations that it had detected three such PFAS chemicals (which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in drinking water leaving its treatment works for customers’ taps, each at levels of 15 nanograms per litre of water (ng/l) or below.
Similarly, Thames Water revealed that water at five of the 105 treatment plants it runs within 10 miles of Heathrow was found to contain PFAS quantities in excess of 10 ng/l.
