BBC PFAS tap water study
Ganesh Sittampalam made this Rhyddid Gwybodaeth request to University of Greenwich This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.
Dear University of Greenwich,
With reference to the following BBC News article where they state:
"Working with Greenwich University, the BBC took 45 tap water samples. Laboratory analysis found that none exceeded the 100ng/l level [for PFAS chemicals]."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-envir...
Please could you provide a list of the locations the samples were taken from and the PFAS levels found in each?
Yours faithfully,
Ganesh Sittampalam
Dear Ganesh,
In response to your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000:
With reference to the following BBC News article where they state:
"Working with Greenwich University, the BBC took 45 tap water samples.
Laboratory analysis found that none exceeded the 100ng/l level [for PFAS
chemicals]."
[1]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-envir...
Please could you provide a list of the locations the samples were taken
from and the PFAS levels found in each?
We will not be providing this information because we have applied the
following exemptions:
Section 43(2) – relating to commercially sensitive information. In
applying this exemption, the University has balanced the public interest
in such a disclosure against the reasons as to why the information as to
why it should be withheld. This is because the exemption is qualified and
subject to a public interest assessment. Although the University is a
public authority and places emphasis on transparency, such a disclosure
could compromise the individuals involved in the research which is still
ongoing until the end of April 2022. This is because to release data on an
unfinalised project could compromise the research and also expose the
process and findings to competitors, thus impacting on free competition
between research individuals and institutions.
Section 22 – future publication. As explained above, the research is
ongoing. Once the project has been finalised, the research will be
submitted to a journal for review and publication. This exemption is
subject to the public interest test and, therefore, we have balanced the
public interest in this information in this information. Again, whilst we
appreciate the importance of transparency, this data is due to be
published in due course and an early release of this data could have a
significant negative impact on the research. Therefore, we do not believe
that the public interest in information that is not yet finalised, but is
due to be published once reviewed, is outweighed by the potential
consequences of early release.
Please also note that the research was funded by the University of
Greenwich and Manchester Metropolitan University and has not been funded
with public or government money.
This letter acts as a Refusal Notice.
If you are unhappy with this response, please detail your complaints in
writing and send to the University Secretary, Peter Garrod, University of
Greenwich, Park Row, London SE10 9LS
([email address]).
If you are still not happy with our response after this internal review
has taken place, you also have a right of appeal to the Information
Commissioner at: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water
Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF (www.ico.org.uk).
Yours sincerely,
Lucy Poole
Interim Information Compliance Manager
Governance & Compliance
Vice-Chancellor’s Office
University of Greenwich
Email: [2][email address]
From: Ganesh Sittampalam <[FOI #845571 email]>
Sent: 19 March 2022 11:08
To: compliance <[University of Greenwich request email]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Freedom of Information request - BBC PFAS tap water
study
This message originated from outside the University. Treat links and
attachments with caution.
Dear University of Greenwich,
With reference to the following BBC News article where they state:
"Working with Greenwich University, the BBC took 45 tap water samples.
Laboratory analysis found that none exceeded the 100ng/l level [for PFAS
chemicals]."
[3]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-envir...
Please could you provide a list of the locations the samples were taken
from and the PFAS levels found in each?
Yours faithfully,
Ganesh Sittampalam
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University of Greenwich, a charity and company limited by guarantee,
registered in England (reg no. 986729). Registered Office: Old Royal Naval
College, Park Row, Greenwich SE10 9LS.
References
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Dear University of Greenwich,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts FOI/EIR reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of University of Greenwich's handling of my request 'BBC PFAS tap water study'.
Firstly, it seems likely that this request should actually have been considered under the Environmental Information Regulations.
Turning to the FOI exemptions you have applied, you have invoked s43 without actually providing any plausible mechanism for how your commercial interests might be affected.
Although you claim that the information was intended for future publication at the time of my request, you have not provided any evidence of an intention to include the full dataset in this publication. It is common for data to be summarised for publication and if that were to happen then the information I have actually requested would not be published.
Turning to the public interest in a prompt release, I would have thought it was self-evident that there would be a huge public interest in releasing information about dangerous chemicals in tap water in a timely fashion.
In addition to this, I would also note that by allowing the BBC to publish selective extracts of the information, you will have also raised public alarm. I am sure that many people, including myself, would have read the article and been immediately concerned about the tap water in their local area and wondering whether they were in an area with high levels of PFAS. Publishing the full data set would give clarity to people in all parts of the country.
I am not sure of the relevance of your comment about the research not being publicly funded, as both universities you mention are public bodies themselves which also derive the vast majority of their income from public funds and you have not identified any specific private funding for the research. The BBC itself is of course also a publicly funded body.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...
Yours faithfully,
Ganesh Sittampalam
Dear Lucy Poole,
It is now nearly 6 months since I requested an internal review of this request, which is well in excess of the time allowed for one under the section 45 code of practice. I will therefore be applying for a decision by the Commissioner shortly unless you provide me with an update.
Yours sincerely,
Ganesh Sittampalam
Please note I have now left the University - please redirect your email to
[email address]. Thank you. Kind regards.
University of Greenwich, a charity and company limited by guarantee,
registered in England (reg no. 986729). Registered Office: Old Royal Naval
College, Park Row, Greenwich SE10 9LS.
Dear University of Greenwich,
It is now nearly 6 months since I requested an internal review of this request, which is well in excess of the time allowed for one under the section 45 code of practice. I will therefore be applying for a decision by the Commissioner shortly unless you provide me with an update.
Yours faithfully,
Ganesh Sittampalam
Dear Ganesh Sittampalam
Thank you for your email regarding your request for an internal review and
please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to you.
We are following this up as a matter of urgency. Your request arrived at a
time of personnel change in the University’s information compliance team
and that appears to have caused the delay in responding to you.
Regards
Peter Garrod
+++++++++++++
Peter Garrod
University Secretary
Vice-Chancellor’s Office
Secretariat
University of Greenwich
From: Ganesh Sittampalam <[1][FOI #845571 email]>
Sent: 15 October 2022 20:58
To: compliance <[2][University of Greenwich request email]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: Freedom of Information request - BBC PFAS tap
water study
This message originated from outside the University. Treat links and
attachments with caution.
Dear University of Greenwich,
It is now nearly 6 months since I requested an internal review of this
request, which is well in excess of the time allowed for one under the
section 45 code of practice. I will therefore be applying for a decision
by the Commissioner shortly unless you provide me with an update.
Yours faithfully,
Ganesh Sittampalam
Dear University Secretary,
Thank you for following up on this. Please can you give me a date by which the internal review will be completed?
Yours sincerely,
Ganesh Sittampalam
Dear Ganesh
With apologies for the delay in responding to this – we are aiming to get
a response to your internal review to you by the end of this week.
Best
Peter
+++++++++++++
Peter Garrod
University Secretary
Vice-Chancellor’s Office
Secretariat
University of Greenwich
Telephone: 07585 110534 | Email: [email address]
From: Ganesh Sittampalam <[FOI #845571 email]>
Sent: 23 October 2022 10:37
To: University Secretary <[email address]>
Subject: Re: FW: [EXTERNAL] Re: Freedom of Information request - BBC PFAS
tap water study - notification of intent to complain to the ICO
This message originated from outside the University. Treat links and
attachments with caution.
Dear University Secretary,
Thank you for following up on this. Please can you give me a date by which
the internal review will be completed?
Yours sincerely,
Ganesh Sittampalam
Dear Ganesh Sittampalam
Confirmation of outcome of internal review
Your ref: request-845571-f17fdaf1
I refer to your email of 19 March 2022 in which you requested information
about PFAS levels in tap water, and to our response of 8 April 2022.
Further to your request for a review of our response, I have decided to
uphold your appeal for these reasons:
• Your email was (in error) treated as a request for information
pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and should instead
have been dealt with pursuant to the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004 (the “Regulations”).
• You have requested information which is within the scope of the
Regulations.
• I have reviewed the information and note that it is unfinished or
incomplete (see below). I have therefore had to consider whether to
apply the exception in Regulation 12(4)(d), on the basis that “the
request relates to material which is still in the course of
completion, to unfinished documents or to incomplete data”. Having
looked at the Regulations, guidance and relevant case law, I have
concluded that the presumption in favour of disclosure under the
Regulations, and the public interest, weigh against applying the
exception.
I have therefore decided that we should release the information that you
have requested. However, I do this with the caveat that the information
that we hold is unfinished or incomplete. Additionally, as raw data, it
does not have the benefit of any expository scientific commentary that
would be presented in any future publication (which, for the avoidance of
doubt, we do not hold). Such a publication would typically explain any
scientific limitations on the data or on the interpretation of the
results. I would therefore advise caution in your use of the information.
The information is available in .csv format. I would be grateful if you
would confirm that this is acceptable. Once confirmed, I will arrange for
disclosure.
I am also conscious that you have been waiting a long time for the outcome
of your internal review, the reasons for which I believe have been
explained, and for which we have offered an apology. Your request should
have been completed by (or around) 17 June 2022. I take the opportunity
to offer a further apology. We have learned from the errors in our
handling of your request, and we are resolved to avoid making them again.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire
SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely,
Daniel Scannell
General Counsel (Solicitor)
Vice-Chancellor’s Office
Secretariat
University of Greenwich
From: University Secretary <[email address]>
Sent: 01 November 2022 13:07
To: Ganesh Sittampalam <[FOI #845571 email]>
Cc: Daniel Scannell <[email address]>
Subject: RE: FW: [EXTERNAL] Re: Freedom of Information request - BBC PFAS
tap water study - notification of intent to complain to the ICO
Dear Ganesh
With apologies for the delay in responding to this – we are aiming to get
a response to your internal review to you by the end of this week.
Best
Peter
+++++++++++++
Peter Garrod
University Secretary
Vice-Chancellor’s Office
Secretariat
University of Greenwich
Telephone: 07585 110534 | Email: [1][email address]
From: Ganesh Sittampalam <[2][FOI #845571 email]>
Sent: 23 October 2022 10:37
To: University Secretary <[3][email address]>
Subject: Re: FW: [EXTERNAL] Re: Freedom of Information request - BBC PFAS
tap water study - notification of intent to complain to the ICO
This message originated from outside the University. Treat links and
attachments with caution.
Dear University Secretary,
Thank you for following up on this. Please can you give me a date by which
the internal review will be completed?
Yours sincerely,
Ganesh Sittampalam
Dear Daniel Scannell,
Thank you very much for your response. A csv file would be fine.
Yours sincerely,
Ganesh Sittampalam
Dear Daniel Scannell,
Can you let me know when I can expect to receive the information? I had the impression from your previous email that it would be available by return once I confirmed CSV was acceptable, but I guess that was mistaken.
FYI, as it took a while to receive any response to my email of 23rd October, I took this to the ICO and they are currently tracking the complaint under their reference IC-199650-M7V1.
Yours sincerely,
Ganesh Sittampalam
Dear Ganesh Sittampalam
Your ref: request-845571-f17fdaf1
ICO ref: IC-199650-M7V1
Apologies for the short further delay in getting the information to you –
I was off work due to illness for much of last week.
Please find attached the data we hold which relates to your request, i.e.
PFAS levels in tap water, by location. I repeat the caveat that the
information that we hold is unfinished or incomplete. Additionally, as
raw data, it does not have the benefit of any expository scientific
commentary that would be presented in any future publication (which, for
the avoidance of doubt, we do not hold). Such a publication would
typically explain any scientific limitations on the data or on the
interpretation of the results. I would therefore advise caution in your
use of the information.
Yours sincerely
Daniel Scannell
General Counsel (Solicitor)
Vice-Chancellor’s Office
Secretariat
University of Greenwich
From: Ganesh Sittampalam <[FOI #845571 email]>
Sent: 11 November 2022 11:01
To: Daniel Scannell <[email address]>
Subject: RE: FW: [EXTERNAL] Re: Freedom of Information request - BBC PFAS
tap water study - notification of intent to complain to the ICO
This message originated from outside the University. Treat links and
attachments with caution.
Dear Daniel Scannell,
Can you let me know when I can expect to receive the information? I had
the impression from your previous email that it would be available by
return once I confirmed CSV was acceptable, but I guess that was mistaken.
FYI, as it took a while to receive any response to my email of 23rd
October, I took this to the ICO and they are currently tracking the
complaint under their reference IC-199650-M7V1.
Yours sincerely,
Ganesh Sittampalam
Dear Daniel Scannell,
Thank for the data. The extra delay is totally fine under the circumstances, I just wasn't sure what was happening.
I will write to the Information Commissioner to withdraw my application for a decision.
Yours sincerely,
Ganesh Sittampalam
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Gadawodd Ganesh Sittampalam anodiad ()
The data released isn't completely consistent with the BBC report. That referred to 45 samples, of which 25 contained PFASs and 4 exceeding 10ng/l. The data released has 27 samples, of which 18 contain PFASs and 5 exceed 10ng/l.
Since the study was done jointly with Manchester Metropolitan University, perhaps they hold the other data,though that doesn't explain why there's one *more* sample exceeding 10ng/l in this release than the BBC reported on. I'm not going to pursue it further though.
Overall the worst areas seem to be South London (Croydon/Isleworth/Tedding/Richmond) and around Luton/St Albans.
Anyway