Chemicals from the RAAF air base at Richmond on Sydney’s outskirts have leached into groundwater, potentially risking the health of nearby residents, an investigation has found.
From 1976 to 2004, the base used a form of firefighting foam that contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, cancer-causing chemicals known commonly as PFAS.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority refers to PFAS as an "emerging contaminant" – one that has unknown effects on human health.
But a growing body of international evidence has associated exposure with a slew of health effects, including immune suppression, liver dysfunction, high cholesterol and some forms of cancer.
The report, completed by environmental consultancy firm Aecom, found chemicals had entered groundwater in a plume 2km long and 5km wide, extending beyond the base perimeter.
“Ultimately, all surface water discharges into major drainage networks and creeks flowing from the site toward the Hawkesbury River,” the report said.
"People don’t drink the surface water," he told the ABC.
"Off-site receptors" included nearby residents, recreational users of creeks and rivers in the area, commercial workers such a farmers, and livestock.
Defence investigators are preparing to assess any effects on human health, monitoring exposures through soil and water contact but also through food, such as seafood, eggs and home-grown crops from the area.
Dozens of PFAS-contaminated sites around Australia are under investigation by authorities.