Policy Brief: Future-proofing the management of chemical pollution in the UK

Policy Context: The Environment Act 2021 established the 25 Year Environmental Plan, which set goals to achieve Clean and Plentiful Water (Goal 3) and Managing Exposure to Chemicals and Pesticides (Goal 4). This plan is supported by the Outcome Indicator Framework, which is a set of indicators to assess trends in natural capital assets. However, at present, chemical monitoring and risk assessment in the UK is heavily fragmented with devolved legislation, policy and regulation.Key Findings: UK water bodies are extensively contaminated with complex chemical mixtures, many of which exceed acceptable risk levels. Despite this, 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.Policy Advice: 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.