Cost to clean up toxic PFAS pollution could top £1.6tn in UK and Europe

Exclusive: Costs of UK cleanup will reach 9.9bn a year in UK if emissions of forever chemicals' remain uncontrolled

• Industry using tobacco playbook' to fend off forever chemicals' regulation

The cost of cleaning up toxic forever chemical pollution could reach more than 1.6tn across the UK and Europe over a 20-year period, an annual bill of 84bn, research has found.

The number of British pollution hotspots is also on the rise. If emissions remain unrestricted and uncontrolled, the costs of cleanup will reach 9.9bn a year in the UK, according to the findings of a year-long investigation by the Forever Lobbying Project, a cross-border investigation involving 46 journalists and 18 experts across 16 countries.