Chemical pollution
Often invisible to the human eye, harmful chemicals are polluting our ocean and impacting marine life. We need to turn the tide on chemical pollution and stop it at source before it's too late.
Chemical pollution has been dubbed as one of the key factors in the current biodiversity crisis. There have been many scientific studies that prove the impact that harmful chemicals are having on marine wildlife ranging from reduced fertility in killer whales, to increased risk of infectious disease in harbour porpoises, and reduced blubber production in seal pups.
A significant concern is that the majority of chemical pollutants enter the ocean through our rivers and estuaries. An often overlooked source of pollution comes from PFAS, or "forever chemicals," which are found in a wide range of everyday products; many of which we may not even realise contain them. The problem is that the very properties that make this group of thousands of chemicals so useful as water repellents and fire-proofing, are what lead to them never breaking down and instead building up in the environment.
PFAS aka 'forever chemicals'
PFAS (Per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances), nicknamed ‘forever chemicals’ are a highly persistent group of several thousand chemicals. Find out more about them, why they're a problem and what we're doing about it.
UK Chemicals Strategy
We're at a crossroads with chemical regulation in the UK, with a Chemicals Strategy expected shortly.
Network of academics
We know that pollution - including chemical pollution - is one of the key drivers of the biodiversity crisis. We've worked with academics to produce a briefing document we can use to lobby the government for change.
