Hunter residents who live outside Williamtown's "red zone" could be forgiven for thinking PFAS isn't their problem.
While no doubt sympathetic to the nightmare situation residents along Cabbage Tree Road and around the RAAF Base have endured regarding PFAS, it would be easy to think if you live outside the "red zone" you haven't been exposed to the dangerous chemical.
A report in Wednesday's Newcastle Herald revealed that's not the case.
"We all have some PFAS in us," Jen Martin, who's involved in researching exposure in livestock, told a recent conference in Sydney.
"They are ubiquitous in the environment, and in humans. Many of these can bioaccumulate (become concentrated inside the bodies of living things), are persistent and can have toxic properties."
And, compounding matters, flooding - aided by the onset of a third consecutive La Nina - is exacerbating the already alarming spread of contaminants.
PFAS is shorthand for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances. They've been detected in air, water, food and animals, including in Australia after decades of use in everyday items from food packaging to cosmetics and carpet.
They have been associated with serious human health risks including some types of cancer, liver and thyroid issues, fertility problems, early onset puberty and low birth weights, among other things.
Hydrogeologist Scott Warner, a researcher with the Global Centre for Environmental Remediation at the University of Newcastle, told a conference in Adelaide that extreme weather events, such as flooding, drought and even bushfires, can have serious effects on groundwater quality.
This isn't good news when you consider PFAS is highly persistent and can travel long distances in water and in the air.
During the federal election campaign, Labor committed to an independent review into land use options around the defence bases with a view to assisting those affected by PFAS contamination and the government will soon release the third draft of its national plan to manage PFAS.
Experts hope the latest draft of the PFAS plan, due for release this month, will contain improved risk management systems.
For frustrated "red zone" residents, that might be too little, too late, but with PFAS exposure something that is proven to affect us all, it's the least we should expect.
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