Contamination from banned chemicals in firefighting foam at levels above safe drinking water guidelines has been found in streams around Palmerston North airport.
Photo: 123RF Seven surface water samples have all tested above the guidelines for the [www.pncc.govt.nz/pfas banned chemical PFOS.]
Streams around Palmerston North airport are contaminated with firefighting foam chemicals at between three and 12 times the safe drinking water guidelines.
A group with representatives from Palmerston North Airport, Horizons Regional Council, Palmerston North City Council, and MidCentral DHB Public Health Services has been set up to handle the PFOS contamination.
The airport was working on a disposal plan of PFOS foam, which would be replaced with fluorine-free firefighting foam, airport chief executive David Lanham said.
More bores will begin to be drilled next week for more tests, to assess if contaminated groundwater was moving off the airport site, Mr Lanham said.
"There are no formal requirements for landowners or regulatory authorities to notify [the public of] the results of investigations," the ministry said in a statement today.
PFASs were not included in the drinking-water standards, only in interim guidelines, so district health boards and the Ministry of Health do not need to be told if they were found, it said.
"Currently there is no consistent evidence that environmental exposures at the low levels New Zealanders are generally exposed to will cause harmful health effects," the ministry said.
"The interim guidance levels for PFOS and PFOA in drinking water were derived from effects found at certain doses in animal studies.