There are growing calls for the Australian government to ban toxic chemicals still found in some common household products after this week's legal settlement with residents.
On Monday the Commonwealth made a $132 million settlement with 30,000 landowners exposed to PFAS chemicals, which leaked from seven Department of Defence military bases across Australia.
PFAS is a group of manufactured chemicals which are still found in some household products but are no longer used by Defence in fire-training drills.
It is alleged residents were exposed to poisonous chemicals in firefighting foam historically used at the sites, and the department negligently allowed them to escape into the environment.
Some residents have had to drink bottled water since 2016 to avoid contaminated sources.
'We should limit our exposure'
Retired NSW firefighter Geoff Zipper has been treated for bladder cancer along with several of his former colleagues.
He said they all regularly used PFAS chemical foam while firefighting and in domestic duties at fire stations, with no warnings of risk and no protective clothing provided.
"We all worked next to each other and the coincidence of all three of us that worked together getting bladder cancer is too much of a coincidence," he said.
The Fire Brigade Employees Union (FBEU) wants fire stations across NSW audited and free blood tests provided to firefighters, like their Victorian counterparts.
The FBEU said the substance was still being found at fire stations where it was used to fight fires.
Mr Zipper wants PFAS chemicals to be banned in Australia once and for all.
"Every Australian fireman is affected, every Australian fire station that used this stuff is potentially a contamination area.
"We used to spray it around at Christmas time because it looked like snow and the kids would run through it."
Some studies from the United States and Europe have connected PFAS exposure to diseases such as cancer, but there is limited evidence in Australia to support the link to adverse health outcomes.
Epidemiologist Professor Martyn Kirk from the Australian National University, said studies of the health impacts showed declining concentration of PFAS in people's blood.
However there was still uncertainty about the long term impact on the environment and the human body, Professor Kirk said.
"We should limit our exposure to these chemicals," he said.
"We have phased out use of these chemicals and the main thing is where we do identify contamination we should limit exposure and that's what the advice has been."
University of NSW environmental engineer Professor Dennis O'Carroll called on the Australian government to seek the most up to date scientific data internationally and update regulations accordingly.
"Everybody around the world is exposed to PFAS, it's in everyone's blood," he said.
"We have exposure through, let's say sometimes our cookware, high performance waterproof jackets, stain resistant carpets, chairs, and also in food packaging," he said.
"It would have been and has been pervasive and we are and have been as a society trying to phase it out."
A spokesperson for the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) said PFAS firefighting foam was banned for use in NSW in 2021 except in catastrophic circumstances.
"Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has advised they have phased out the use of PFAS firefighting foams however they can apply to the NSW Environment Protection Authority in writing for an exemption from the ban so PFAS foam can be used in response to a catastrophic fire," the EPA said in a statement.
"This material should always be stored appropriately under strict conditions to minimise any risks to human health and the environment."
Other countries have banned the chemicals, but the Australian government said it was updating the PFAS plan as more scientific information becomes available.
