Warning as chemicals harm rivulet
Legacy of firefighting foam an ’unacceptable
THE Barilla Rivulet at Cambridge has been contaminated with PFAS chemicals as a result of the Tasmania Fire Service’s historic use of firefighting foams at its nearby training complex.
The Mercury can reveal the Police, Fire and Emergency Management Department (DPFEM) has recommended a local landowner stop consuming food produced on their property because of elevated levels of chemical contamination in soil, crops and produce.
It is understood the landowner has used water from the rivulet for farm irrigation.
The TFS would not say where exactly the property was located, nor whether it had offered the owner any form of compensation.
In the DPFEM’s new draft PFAS Management Plan, seen by the Mercury, it said PFAS was transferred via irrigation to the food chain on the farm property.
“It was concluded that elevated PFAS in chicken eggs and eels on the property have potential to represent unacceptable risk to human health, and recommendations were made to the landowner to cease consumption,” the draft plan says.
Per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are manufactured chemicals that have historically been used across the globe in household and industrial products that resist water, heat, and stains. PFAS chemicals are nigh on indestructible once in the environment.
PFAS has been used in
B-class firefighting foams, which are designed to combat liquid fires.
In the mid-2000s, PFAS was identified as having negative impacts on the environment and, potentially, human health, and was removed from service in Tasmania.
United Firefighters Union Tasmania branch industrial organiser Stephen McCallum said firefighters wanted the government and TFS to be “open, honest, and transparent” about PFAS contamination.
“The Australian government PFAS Taskforce is coordinating a PFAS response and it calls on all the state governments to be very open in their consultation with stakeholders – and clearly this isn’t taking place in Tasmania,” he said.
“If PFAS has made its way into the environment, then it has most likely contaminated Tasmanian firefighters. This is why firefighters want TFS to provide PFAS blood testing.”
While the federal government task force believes there’s currently “limited to no evidence” of human health risks associated with PFAS exposure, the United States Environmental Protection Authority has said consistent findings from human epidemiological studies have shown increased cholesterol levels in exposed populations, while less extensive findings have been linked to cancer, effects on the immune system, and thyroid hormone disruption.
It is believed that due to the historical prevalence of products containing PFAS, the general population has low levels in its blood.
An investigation into PFAS contamination at Cambridge began in 2016, with DPFEM commissioning external consultants to determine the extent of contamination at the training complex site.
“The assessments concluded that the levels of PFAS did not pose an unacceptable level of risk to human health in relation to its use as a fire training facility,” the draft plan reads.
“However, elevated PFAS was detected in surface water and groundwater leaving the site (ie into Barilla Rivulet).”
A TFS spokeswoman said the service had been engaging with stakeholders, including
government authorities and property owners, regarding PFAS in the Barilla Rivulet.
“Identified property owners were invited to participate in a testing regimen to monitor the levels of PFAS on their properties,” the spokeswoman said.
“Results have been provided directly to the owners of the impacted properties, along with advice appropriate to their situation. “(TFS) will continue to engage with the relevant stakeholders in relation to this matter.”
An Environment Protection Authority spokeswoman said the TFS was the “lead entity” in relation to the PFAS contamination in and around the Cambridge training complex site.