An Australian Senate inquiry is examining PFAS contamination as experts and communities demand wider bans on the chemicals and funding for health assessments.
Donna Lu reports for The Guardian.
In short:
- PFAS contamination in Wreck Bay, caused by firefighting foams, has led the Indigenous community to seek blood testing for health risks, following a $22 million legal settlement for economic and cultural damages.
- Professor Stuart Khan recommends expanding Australia's upcoming PFAS ban to cover more products and holding polluters financially accountable for cleanup costs.
- The Department of Defence is addressing PFAS contamination at 28 sites, spending $850 million on remediation since 2015 but resisting calls for blood testing due to a lack of consensus on health impacts.
Key quote:
“Almost every molecule of PFAS that has ever been synthesised is still with us in PFAS form.”
— Stuart Khan, University of Sydney School of Civil Engineering
Why this matters:
The challenge of addressing PFAS contamination has been compounded by their ubiquity and the slow pace of regulation. As the science surrounding these chemicals evolves, questions of accountability — whether by manufacturers or industries using PFAS — loom large. Efforts to protect affected communities and ecosystems are ongoing, but the task remains formidable, given the widespread and persistent nature of these chemicals.
