Consultants assessing more ACT sites for PFAS testing

https://news.knowledia.com/AU/en/articles/consultants-assessing-more-act-sites-for-pfas-testing-1d88a35bdfaec83c6e54f5e1d8a776b41625a0d8

10 January 2021

Consultants were working to determine whether more sites in the ACT would require testing for potentially toxic contamination left over from a now discontinued firefighting foam. The deputy director of the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development directorate, Geoffrey Rutledge, confirmed GHD Pty Ltd were in the process of identifying other sites which needed further investigation. “Lessees will be made aware if testing is required,” Mr Rutledge said. The work follows the identification of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, at St Thomas Aquinas Primary School in Charnwood and the Ginninderra Christian Church. Both sites are adjacent to the former West Belconnen fire station site. The chemicals, which have been linked to chronic diseases, were widely used in firefighting foams. The foams have not been used in the ACT since 2004. In a report prepared for the directorate in July 2020, GHD concluded aqueous film-forming foams, which contained PFAS, were used on unsealed lands adjacent to the former West Belconnen fire…