FOREST Hill residents are being urged to attend one of two public meetings on Wednesday for an update on the discovery of a fire-fighting chemical in surface and ground water outside RAAF Base Wagga.
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Senior Australian Defence Force officer at the base, Group Captain Ross Jones, said preliminary testing had found the presence of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in three of five water samples, but in very low concentrations.
“The level found in the surface water was so low we could barely detect it,” Group Captain Jones said.
He said detailed sampling would be conducted next year and the community kept informed.
“I want the community to know that at every stage we will be talking to them about what is going on,” Group Captain Jones said.
Wednesday’s two-hour meetings will be held at the Forest Hill Public School at 1pm and 6.30pm.
They will be conducted by Rear Admiral Clint Thomas, the national spokesman for the investigation into what are known as per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
Forest Hill Progress Association president, Kevin Kerr, said he would like as many residents as possible to attend either of the meetings.
“We want someone to tell us what they have found, what is the concentration in parts per million, what they are going to do about it and what precautions people should take,” Mr Kerr said.
“I’d encourage all Forest Hill residents to turn up for peace of mind, if nothing else.”
The discovery of fire-fighting chemicals in water around the Williamtown RAAF base near Newcastle in much higher levels than found at Forest Hill has caused an uproar there.
The Department of Defence has asked people intending to go to the Forest Hill meetings to RSVP for catering purposes by telephoning 1800 365 414.
For more information, visit the Department of Defence’s PFAS investigation and management site.
