Secret Government U-turn on poisonous chemicals permitted in our water supply.

Mike Penning, MP for Hemel Hempstead, has been working with journalists from The Independent who have uncovered a secret Government U-turn which will allow poisonous chemical to enter our drinking water. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is added to the foam used to fight major fires, 250,000 litres of which was used to fight the fire at Buncefield.

The then Secretary of State for the Environment, Margaret Beckett, had drawn up legislation banning the import of the firefighting foams that include PFOS as the chemical does not break down in the environment and accumulates heavily in humans.

Mike Penning said:
"I don't want to spread scare stories. No polluted water has been supplied to householders yet and I'm very glad this information has become public before it's too late to stop it.”

“I cannot see the logic that says that, on the one hand, this stuff is so dangerous that it should be a crime to import it into the country at all and, on the other hand, it's all right for my constituents to drink it, albeit in very limited quantities.”

The water companies are not permitted to use local pumping stations and bore-holes at present, but they are under pressure because of the water shortage. There had been no original standard for the amount of PFOS that is acceptable in drinking water; there was no need as it was not expected that there would be any. As a result of Buncefield, however, health authorities advise that up to 3 micrograms per litre is not detrimental to health.

Mike added:
“The clear implication is that the rules have been changed because there is a clear possibility that PFOS may find its way into our drinking water. This is not how health and safety decisions should be made. The Government should set safety standards first and then determine whether we drink the water, not the other way round. Here we have: pre-Buncefield the stuff is so dangerous we don’t want any in the country, post-Buncefield its not so bad after all.”

“I'm asking the Government to take the long-term view. Whether or not there is a drought coming, the safety of the water supply - and the perception that it is safe - has got to be the first priority."