Dr Alex Lee to speak at the SoBRA / RSC December 2025 Conference

Current Issues in Contaminated Land Risk Assessment

HKA’s Alex Lee, Partner is delighted to be speaking at the SoBRA / RSC December 2025 Conference, taking place at The Royal Society of Chemistry in London. Alex will be joined by Emily Nicholson, Partner at Mishcon de Reya talking about ‘Understanding Foreseeability in PFAS Contaminated Sites: Bridging General and Specific Impact‘.

10 December 2025 -12.20 PM – 12.45 PM
Understanding Foreseeability in PFAS Contaminated Sites: Bridging General and Specific Impact

The legal landscape surrounding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) cases is evolving as scientific understanding, regulations, public awareness and media attention increase.  This presentation will consider the main challenges related to definitions, exposure and toxicology.  It will include a focus on the key issues of foreseeability and causation.  Establishing specific causation is critical in personal injury cases, but no single disease is definitively linked to PFAS exposure.  Proving a direct link between PFAS exposure and an individual’s specific health condition is complex due to long latency periods and multiple exposure sources.  Multidisciplinary expert teams are required to address these issues.

The United States remains the focus for the largest international class actions, including the recent multidistrict litigation (MDL) involving thousands of cases.  In 2023, 3M reached a $10.3 billion settlement to address claims related to contamination of public water supplies.  PFAS litigation still has the potential to become one of the most significant issues in UK environmental law in the future.  Differences in regulatory frameworks, litigation culture and legal mechanisms shape how each country addresses the risks posed by PFAS. 

Speakers

View the full programme here