PFAS: A forever problem?

Webinar: PFAS: A forever problem?

12th June 2025

12 noon – 1pm

In recent years, the acronym PFAS – or poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances – have sometime been called “forever chemicals”. But is that true and if so, what are the implications of this?  The webinar will provide an overview of what PFAS is and the main concerns around these chemicals that have emerged, particularly around their persistence and health impacts. Also discussed will be how they have been used, particularly in firefighting foam. The talk also includes details of some of the challenges that could be posed to the sector as regulators respond to pressures to restrict the use of PFAS. as well as some of the treatment methods used to remove it.

The key takeaways from the talk will aim to be:

• A better understanding of PFAS and where they are used and how you can be exposed to them
• Providing an overview of firefighting foams and their selection and use
• Updates on proposed restrictions in UK, EU and beyond
• To give an indication of the effectiveness of various treatment methods
• Pass on some details of practical lessons learned from dealing with PFAS contamination
• How PFAS could affect you as a business, for example in site contamination or restrictions to markets

Bill Atkinson is the Chief Scientific Advisor at Adler & Allan, leading a team that provides 24/7 emergency chemical incident advice world-wide, allied to chemical incident response in the UK.

A chemist by background with over 25 years’ experience in responding to chemical incidents, he also now heads up the Pollutants Advisory Group (PAG) at Adler & Allan, which brings together the Group’s various technical and practical experts in pollution management. The PAG was formed in response to the challenges presented by a number of large projects that the Group was undertaking, including ones involving the release of PFAS. Bill’s role is to coordinate the activities of the PAG to help the Adler & Allan Group apply the lessons learned in future incident planning and response.

You can register for this Zoom event here.