Speeches by Buckley.

“I want to push back on that slightly. We have seen with other types of pollution—particularly water pollution, but also air pollution—how monitoring can expose the levels of risk of harm and the result in how people’s health deteriorates. That generates quite a lot of public interest and then a policy response. There i…”

“Professor Depledge, this is your area of expertise, so perhaps you could bring us up to speed.”

“What about data sharing and monitoring? Is there anything there?”

“That is interesting. The military not only have exemptions for use but, instead of being a hotspot, are a sort of not-spot. They can do their own survey, and they do not have to publish it unless forced to do so. Would it be better if a third party, an overarching agency, were able to do that, or if the military were r…”

“Your answer is really helpful—thank you. We will ensure that, in our report, it is on the radar that there is a gap in the data, and we note your important point about the lack of resourcing and training on that important reporting.”

“We will make sure we forward that to the MoD. That is a specific example of a very bespoke type of site, which has its own issues and constraints. Professor Depledge, reflecting back on your time as the chief scientific adviser to the EA and your previous career, can you tell us about any gaps or lack of collaboration …”

“Do you think that could be replicated under the newly established Office for Environmental Protection, which is trying to offer that framework?”

“I want to push back on that slightly. We have seen with other types of pollution—particularly water pollution, but also air pollution—how monitoring can expose the levels of risk of harm and the result in how people’s health deteriorates. That generates quite a lot of public interest and then a policy response. There i…”

“Professor Depledge, this is your area of expertise, so perhaps you could bring us up to speed.”

“How do you think mapping can inform targeted interventions or remediation? We are policymakers, and we want to put recommendations to Ministers. Do you have any thoughts about that?”

“I am interested to hear your description of the controls and regulation before PFAS come to market. Once PFAS are already there, we also want to understand more about the monitoring. Dr Cloy, how is current PFAS exposure monitored and mapped in the UK, and how do you feel about that?”

“Linsey, we have heard a couple of times about issues specifically coming from military sites. Is there no current statutory requirement or liability for military sites to conduct any of this monitoring or mapping, or to produce reports about the impact of activities?”

“I think that leads us back to you, Linsey. Are there any studies, or any concern at all, about the exposure of military personnel? They often live on site, don’t they?”

“Do you think there are any current gaps in the data, or where we do have good data, is there anything we could do around transparency and accountability? We heard the specific example in the MoD, where there is a gap, but what about the rest of the data? Are there any issues?”

“To push back on that, there are obviously sensitivities around the data and access to military sites.”

“So we would have to disaggregate the variables to show the different impacts. We would need to find a more affluent area that has also been exposed to PFAS to be able to demonstrate the link. As you said earlier, there are gaps in the scientific research. Dr Cloy, do you want to come back before we wrap up this section…”

“Do you think that could be replicated under the newly established Office for Environmental Protection, which is trying to offer that framework?”

“Dr Cloy, will you comment on that, and on any other gaps that you think might be in the data, whether that is gaps in the data itself or in transparency?”

“What about data sharing and monitoring? Is there anything there?”

“Do you think there are any current gaps in the data, or where we do have good data, is there anything we could do around transparency and accountability? We heard the specific example in the MoD, where there is a gap, but what about the rest of the data? Are there any issues?”