9/1/25: Tower Beach EPA Tests
PFHxS+PFOS 0.017ug/L, PFOA 0.005ug/L
NHMRC Recreational Water Guidelines PFHxS+PFOS 2ug/L, PFOA 10ug/L
Sydney beach is closed after cancer-linked ‘forever’ chemicals are detected in the water (by Harrison Christian Daily Mail 4/1/25)
A popular Sydney beach has been quietly closed to swimmers over fears the water contains ‘forever chemicals’ that can cause cancer.
Tower Beach, or ‘Plainspotting Beach,’ beside Sydney Airport, has had ‘no swimming’ and ‘no fishing’ signs installed without any fanfare, though unsuspecting residents continue to get in the water as temperatures soar.
An underground body of water, known as the Botany Sands Aquifer, beneath the airport is contaminated with dangerous levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
PFAS have been linked to cancer and are deemed ‘forever chemicals’ because they never break down in the environment.
The ‘no swimming’ signs were quietly installed two years ago, but swimmers, fishermen and horse riders continue to frequent the beach.
Families with young children favour the beach because of its calm waters.
Tower Beach is also popular among aircraft enthusiasts who enjoy the view of the airport’s main runway.
A local resident, Terry Daly, was left outraged by Sydney Airport’s lack of transparency about the threat and the poor visibility of the ‘no swimming’ signs.
‘Tiny kids are playing on the sand there all the time,’ Mr Daly told the Sydney Morning Herald.
The presence of PFAS across NSW, including at Botany Bay, is subject to an ongoing investigation by the NSW EPA.
A spokeswoman for the environmental watchdog said this week it was continuing to urge the federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, which regulates the airport land, to protect Aussies from PFAS.
‘Transparency around the level of contamination is important to ensure community awareness,’ the spokeswoman said.
But there’s a stoush over who should pay for the clean-up: Sydney Airport or Airservices Australia which used PFAS-containing foams in its fire fighting operations at the airport up until 2010.
Airservices Australia is conducting its own investigation into the presence of PFAS at the airport, with the result expected in mid-2025.