In this Policy Brief, Dr Tom Miller advises to develop a unified UK chemical strategy that harmonises risk assessment and regulation, whilst expanding and standardising chemical monitoring to restore capacity, improve trend detection in assessment frameworks, and ensure effective management of chemical pollution.
The UK Environment Act 2021 established a 25 Year Environmental Plan, which includes goals to achieve clean and plentiful water and to manage exposure to chemicals and pesticides. Despite this, Dr Miller’s research shows that UK water bodies are extensively contaminated with complex chemical mixtures, many of which exceed acceptable risk levels. Furthermore, current chemical monitoring and risk assessment do not capture the extent of chemical pollution, especially at discharges from sewer overflows, which are critical in the prevalence of chemical pollution. In light of this, the key recommendations in this Policy Brief are:
- Develop and publish a centralised chemical strategy
- Increase monitoring capacity to ensure trends in contamination can be established and compared.
- Strengthen the uptake and development of innovative monitoring and risk assessment approaches
- Promote education and training for the next generation of (eco)toxicologists
See the full policy brief here