PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(11 December 2025)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on whether levels of PFAS in sewage biosolids from wastewater plants are being investigated in Phase 4 of the Chemical Investigations Programme.

Asked by:
James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat)

Sewage sludge is the by-product of the wastewater treatment which can applied to agricultural land as a fertiliser. Whilst this practice supports the circular economy, the Government recognises that sludge spreading is not without risk.

To better understand these risks from chemicals, Defra officials are engaging with industry and independent researchers under the water industry-funded Chemicals Investigation Programme (CIP). PFAS in sludge was investigated in phase 3 of CIP (CIP3) with reports available online: CIP3 Information. Further sludge investigations are now being run in the current phase 4, they include CIP4 Groundwater, Soil and Biosolids Investigation and CIP4 - Chemical Investigations Programme - Phase 4 - Sludge Investigation.

This work will help inform possible and future measures to mitigate PFAS pollution. The Department discusses the progress of this work on a frequent basis.

Answered by:
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