We see the floods of rainwater wash off the southern end of the airfield into the gutters, the drains, the brooks and, in turn, into the River Trent. We know that PFAS can’t be filtered out of the water supply by the treatment works. We know that PFAS don’t go away; they don’t break down, they don’t decay. We know that PFAS are highly carcinogenic. We know the southern end of the airfield was extensively used for fire training for decades. We know the chemicals used for fire training and in fire-retardant foams contained heavy amount of PFAS. And yet nobody – nobody, not Vistry (who now own the airfield), not Rushcliffe Borough Council, not the local Health Authority – nobody has thought to carry out a detailed PFAS contamination survey of any of the water run-offs or water collection points/channels at the southern end of the airfield. Why not? We do know an individual has privately carried out a detailed analysis of a water run-off from the northern end of the airfield (Bassingfield end).

The Government has finally realised that PFAS are a thing, but their action is so far behind the ball, they’re not even on the same pitch as other countries. Is everybody in authority scared of the health risks that PFAS are inflicting on the population? Or are the people in authority worried about the legal actions which might land once we all wake up to the fact our health is being put at risk by the country’s collective inactivity? Here’s an article on PFAS. You decide who isn’t acting and why that’s the case.