A recent review paper seeks to consolidate and summarise current knowledge on the sources and distribution of PFAS, their environmental impacts, and the challenges associated with remediation. The authors, who include members of the PFAS WG, emphasize that detection and characterisation remains problematic. Regulatory control is complicated by the diversity …
Date: 2 June 2026 12-13:00 UK, online The third webinar in the EBIC Hub’s Engineering Biology in Action series is on ‘Enzyme Engineering for PFAS Remediation‘. Speakers include Dr Tao Lyu and Mahsa Baniasadi of Cranfield University. To register see HERE, or use the QR code:
Congratulations to our colleagues in the EBIC Hub on the outcomes of the recent flexible funding round. Over ÂŁ800k in total has been awarded to four projects, including one on Development of Peptide/Aptamer-Based Biosensing Platforms for Real-Time, Ultrasensitive Detection of PFAS with PI Dr Dhiman Chakravarty and co-Leads including Prof …
This month, the EU introduced mandatory systematic monitoring requirements for per and polyfluoroalkyl-substances (PFAS) in drinking water, aimed at promoting compliance with new limit values in the revised EU Drinking Water Directive (2024/2184). The new limits are 0.5 µg/L for total PFAS and 0.1 µg/L for the sum of 20 …
Closing date:Â 31 Dec 2025 A quick reminder about the Special Edition of Water Environment Journal on Environmental Biotechnology, with Guest Editors Dr Tao Lyu of Cranfield University and Dr Anjali Jayakumar of Newcastle University. Topics include but are not restricted to: Pollutants and media, covering both traditional and emerging …
An episode of the BBC’s Panorama programme aired on 1 Dec 2025 with the title The Truth about Forever Chemicals.  While EBNet’s PFAS WG and the EBIC Hub obviously take this issue very seriously indeed, we are not sure some of the apparent messages here were very helpful. The programme …
Webinar date: Mon 1 Dec 2025, 12:30-13:15 UK The EPSRC-funded Better Water 4All Network+ is hosting its first webinar on Engineering for the challenges of Forever Chemicals (PFAS) in drinking water. The speaker is Dr Yanyan Zhang who leads the Analysis and Degradation Mechanism of Emerging Contaminants Laboratory in Westlake …
A BBC News item reports that seven UK water companies have been issued with enforcement notices requiring them to take action on potentially harmful concentrations of PFAS ‘Forever chemicals’ in water supplies to an estimated 6 million people. The cases were identified through analysis of Freedom of Information requests to …
Applications are invited for a fully-funded 3-year PhD starting in October 2026, on Assessment of the sources, transport and fate of PFAS in soil, sediment, surface and groundwater and biota in England, with a focus on the River Thames catchment. The PhD will be based in the Faculty of Science …
The Better Water for All Network+, led by Dr Bing Guo of the University of Surrey, was successfully launched on 3 Oct 2025 in an event that brought stakeholders together to discuss how we can achieve a sustainable water future and tackle the challenges of chemical and biological micropollutants. The …
PFAS continues to draw the attention of regulators and others, to such an extent that it can sometimes be hard to keep up. Fortunately the UK’s Contaminated Land: Applications in Real Environments group (CL:AIRE) has now set up a PFAS Webpage that compiles relevant information from around the world.  Non-commercial …
Earlier this year EBNet’s PFAS WG presented a Position Statement identifying knowledge gaps and the need for development of cost-effective approaches able to degrade PFAS. Since then the WG has: run a successful international workshop co-sponsored by EBNet and the Environmental Biotechnology Innovation Centre (EBIC) – see video playlist presented …
The Environment Agency’s new Position Paper on Nature-Based Solutions is the starting point for an episode in the Planet Possible podcast series, featuring Helen Wakeham, the EA’s Director of Water, and Mark Lloyd, CEO of the Rivers Trust. A wide-ranging discussion includes the challenges presented by lack of performance data, …
An EBNet-funded POC awarded to Dr Tao Lyu, the PFAS WG Lead, looked at the use of molecular docking and dynamics simulations to investigate interactions between enzymes and PFAS compounds, with the goal of helping to elucidate potential mechanisms for PFAS biodegradation and providing tools to bridge the gap between …
Deadline for responses: 18 Aug 2025 08:00 am UK Spring Innovation is calling for case studies, trials and research to add to a water sector database on PFAS research. The goals of this survey include: Mapping what is being done: research, trials, innovation fund entries, and supplier activity Identifying where …
