Salt Ash community members have called for the closure of the local school after recent testing revealed the continued presence of elevated PFAS levels in the playground.
A Department of Education letter sent to parents has advised recent testing had shown "slightly elevated" levels of PFAS in the north east area of the school and near the covered playground and sandpit.
The department has not provided details of the most recent readings.
The school has been in the epicentre of the PFAS contamination scandal since 2015.
While it wasn't initially included in the contamination zone surrounding the RAAF base, it was added later following the discovery of contamination in the groundwater.
Parts of the school's environment have already been sealed to prevent interaction with contaminated soil.
Parent Nick Marshall called on the education department to be transparent in how it dealt with the ongoing contamination issue.
"They need to engage the community in the process instead of keeping them in the dark like they have been for years ," he said.
Kim Smith, who lives across the road, said the latest discovery added weight to the argument that the school should be closed.
"They need to get real and do what's best for the children and the community," she said.
"The kids are the most vulnerable members of our community. It's very disappointing that this has happened again."
Fullerton Cove resident and president of the national Coalition Against PFAS, Lindsay Clout, agreed.
"They should be closing the school and not exposing kids to this chemical.
He said the government's refusal to reintroduce community blood testing meant there was no way to monitor what students' exposure levels.
In a works notification sent to parents the department said it would implement some "minor additional measures' to reduce the risk to staff, students and visitors following the recent test results.
These include the installation of synthetic turf to protect surface soils on surrounding school grounds from wind erosion, covering and replacing sandpit sand more frequently and increasing person hygiene practices when carrying out lawn mowing, gardening and maintenance activities.
"These new measures will build on the existing behavioural and administrative measures already in place to prevent students interacting with the soil," the letter said.
A Department of Education spokeswoman said the results were reported to the NSW Environment Protection Authority. The EPA made several recommendations, which were implemented.
"We are also in ongoing discussions to keep Hunter New England Local Health District briefed," she said.
"The independent hygienist has described the PFAS levels at Salt Ash Public School as "marginally elevated" above the guidance level for human health and safety and does not pose significant risk to students or staff under controls documented in the existing risk management plan for the school. We are now adding additional controls following the recent testing results."
Annual testing for PFAS has been taking place at the school since 2016. The July 2023 test results were the same as those conducted in late 2022.
Department of Defence contamination maps for the Williamtown Red Zone show the intensity of PFAS contamination at the RAAF base has fallen significantly over recent years.
While PFAS is still polluting the base's ground water, a recent Department of Defence analysis shows levels were much lower than previously reported.
The Department of Defence has spent more than $100 million in recent years remediating PFAS hotspots, which were created by the extensive use of firefighting chemicals.
