UK Prime Minister Vows Action After Forever Chemical Levels Found 43,000 Times Above Safe Limits Near Former RAF Base

PM Steps In After Alarming Forever Chemical Discovery Near Former RAF Base

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to ensure "appropriate steps are taken" following the discovery of dangerous levels of so-called forever chemicals in a waterway near the former RAF Upper Heyford base in Oxfordshire. The Prime Minister made the commitment during Prime Minister's Questions after being prompted by Bicester and Woodstock MP Calum Miller, who demanded urgent government action.

Independent Tests Reveal Staggering Contamination Levels

Residents living near the historic airbase took matters into their own hands, funding independent water testing in a stream located just 0.5km (0.3 miles) south of the former military site. The results were deeply troubling. Concentrations of polyfluoroalkyl substances — commonly known as PFAS or "forever chemicals" — were recorded at 27,000 nanograms per litre (ng/l), a figure that is a staggering 43,000 times higher than the environmental quality standard (EQS) of 0.65 ng/l. That figure is also forty times greater than readings previously taken by the Environment Agency further downstream.

Among the chemicals detected was PFOS, a substance that has been banned in the United Kingdom due to its potential links to cancer. PFOS was historically used in firefighting foams — the kind that would have been routinely deployed at an active military airfield.

What Are Forever Chemicals and Why Are They So Dangerous?

PFAS is an umbrella term covering a group of more than 10,000 chemical substances. They earn the nickname "forever chemicals" because their molecular structure makes them extraordinarily resistant to breaking down — a process that can take thousands of years. This persistence makes them a serious environmental and public health concern.

Dr. David Megson, an expert in environmental forensics at Manchester Metropolitan University, explained that PFAS compounds are "much more mobile" than older generations of persistent chemicals. He warned that they can "easily get into shallow groundwater and into local rivers and ditches," making contamination difficult to contain once it takes hold.

MP Calls for Monitoring and Ministerial Meetings

During his address in Parliament, MP Calum Miller highlighted that the Gallos Brook, which runs through his constituency, now holds the unwanted distinction of having the highest recorded concentration of forever chemicals in England. He criticised the Environment Agency (EA) for having "no plans for regular monitoring" at the site and called on both the Environment Secretary and Health Secretary to meet with him and affected residents to discuss what further action could be taken.

Prime Minister Starmer responded by thanking Miller for raising the issue and confirmed he would personally ensure a meeting between the MP and the relevant cabinet ministers takes place. "I'll make sure that the detail is looked at and that appropriate steps are taken," Starmer said.

Residents Worried About Health and Food Safety

For those who live in the surrounding Heyford Park development, the contamination is not merely a political or environmental issue — it is a deeply personal one. Leigh Radwell, who has resided on the edge of the former base for over a decade, expressed serious concern about the stream that runs just 16 to 17 feet from her front door.

"If you're getting readings in the thousands further on down this stream, that's off the Richter scale," she said. "I am very concerned for the people that are close."

Radwell also tends a large garden next to the stream, where she grows a variety of fruit and vegetables that she shares with friends and family. The possibility that her homegrown produce could be contaminated has left her deeply unsettled. "If the produce that I've been growing is contaminated in some way, how is it going to affect somebody's health? How is it going to affect my health?" she asked.

Environment Agency and Developers Respond

The Environment Agency acknowledged that Upper Heyford's history as a military airfield presents a credible contamination risk, particularly from firefighting foams used during its operational years. A spokesperson confirmed the agency conducts routine surveillance monitoring of surface water at the site as part of a broader national effort to understand PFAS concentrations across England.

The EA added that it would collaborate with developers and local planning authorities during any future redevelopment to ensure thorough environmental investigations and any necessary remediation work are carried out.

Dorchester Living, the current owner of the Upper Heyford site, stated that "extensive environmental investigations and remediation" had already been undertaken in consultation with the EA. CEO Paul Silver acknowledged, however, that "further targeted investigation is appropriate in specific areas."

Thames Water has sought to reassure the public that tap water in the surrounding area remains safe to drink.

Calls for Systematic and Ongoing Testing

MP Miller acknowledged that while the independent testing results are alarming, they represent only a partial picture of the contamination's true extent. "A couple of sporadic tests on one water stream give us a bit of information and give us a reason to act rapidly. They don't give us a full picture," he said.

He is pushing for the Environment Agency and local authorities to establish a coordinated programme of regular, systematic testing so that the full scale of the problem can be properly understood — and so that meaningful solutions can be developed and implemented without delay.