2018 Hospital Swamp (Victoria) – Consumption Advice for Recreationally Harvested Waterfowl, sediment

Hospital Swamp

Consumption Advice for Recreationally Harvested Waterfowl

EPA Victoria – Publication Date 1732 March 2019

Children and adults should not consume duck liver. Children should limit their consumption of duck breast meat to one serve (75g) per month from Hospital Swamp (part of Lake Connewarre
State Game Reserve).

It was only possible to collect waterfowl for testing from a limited number of wetlands. It is therefore recommended that hunters should exercise caution when onsuming waterfowl from sites nearby wetlands with current health advisories. For example, Reedy Lake (part of Lake Connewarre State Game Reserve) is within 2 km of Hospital Swamp and waterfowl can freely move between these wetlands. As such, waterfowl collected from Reedy Lake should be treated the same as those collected from Hospital Swamp until more evidence is provided. EPA will be investigating PFAS concentrations further in these areas.

Hospital Swamp

PFAS in Victorian waterfowl

Investigation of the presence of PFAS in 19 wetlands in Victoria

EPA Victoria Publication 1734 March 2019

PFOS + PFHxS: Hospital Swamp Sediment: 0.0019mg/kg

PFOS: Hospital Swamp Sediment: 0.0016mg/kg

PFOS: Hospital Swamp Soil: 0.0042mg/kg

Table 6 (below) – Summary of exceedances of trigger points for investigation in waterfowl, the number of specimens per species for composite samples and the range of PFOS + PFHxS concentrations in breast and liver.

Waterfowl Tested: 6 Pacific Black Duck. 6 Total Specimens. PFOS + PFHxS: Breast 16.3ug/kg, Liver 182ug/kg

above trigger points for investigation in bold