RAAF Base Wagga will be one of 16 defence sites to be tested for the presence of two chemicals described as emerging contaminants which don’t break down easily in the environment.
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The chemicals are perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
They were contained in foam used by Defence and other agencies from the 1970s to 2008 to fight liquid fuel fires.
The Assistant Minister for Defence and member for Riverina, Michael McCormack, said the testing at RAAF Base Wagga was purely precautionary at this stage.
“No one has found any danger from the chemicals to human health, but they are staying in the environment,” Mr McCormack said.
Mr McCormack said testing would reveal if there was any presence of PFOS and PFOA at the Forest Hill base.
“At Forest Hill there is very low risk of the chemicals being in the water table because there is a significant depth – 130 metres of predominantly clay soil – to the ground water,” Mr McCormack said.
“We don’t expect to find anything wrong with the water.
“It’s more precaution than anything.”
The senior Australian Defence Force officer at RAAF Base Wagga, Group Captain Ross Jones, briefed Wagga City Council on this issue on Thursday.
Ahead of the testing, the Department of Defence will undertake community consultation with Forest Hill residents.
Group Captain Jones can also be contacted by residents by telephoning 1300 333 362.
PFOS and PFOA have been found in water and soils around RAAF Base Williamtown near Newcastle and the Army Aviation Centre at Oakey in Queensland.
“While extensive research is ongoing in both Australia and overseas, there are no globally accepted peer reviewed studies showing that exposure to PFOS and PFOA affect human health,” the Department of Defence says in an information flyer published last December.
The flyer also says there are no state, national or international standards for ‘safe’ or ‘unsafe’ levels of PFOS and PFOA.
