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Everyday too many people, especially pregnant women and children, are exposed to pollutants via the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink and the products we use. Ongoing chemical exposures leads to increased toxicity in the person's organs with links to cancers and chronic diseases. Worse, is pregnant women unknowingly passing these toxic chemicals via their blood to the unborn child with evidence of birth defects. When we know this is occurring through government mismanagement, this is social injustice with the person and taxpayers bearing the ongoing health costs. Without a healthy environment, there cannot be a sustainable economy and equitable society.
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PFAS exposure has not been shown to cause disease in humans. However, it has been associated with mildly elevated levels of cholesterol, effects on kidney function and effects on the levels of some hormones. The differences reported for these associations have generally been small and unlikely to be important to health outcomes.
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There are hundreds of sites around Australia contaminated by PFAS compounds where Aqueous Film Forming Foams have been used (AFFF) at airports, gas plants, Defence bases & military sites, metro and country fire service training sites. The uncontained PFAS foam have since moved into residential areas, farmland and waterways contaminating the soil, groundwater and waterways. Some of these contaminated areas are now toxic chemical minefields but also food producing areas. Government have made the choice to put economics over welfare of men, women, children and pregnant women to protect our clean, green image. PFAS is also in every day products like food packaging, pet food bags, makeup, and many more. Yet, our federal and state governments continue to do nothing while they FEED YOU A LIE!
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Government is not taking into consideration the people who are living with uncertainty, unable to sell their property and feeling trapped on their own land in highly contaminated areas. What right have government got to ruin your asset and make your life savings worth nothing. These people are exposed to PFAS every day accumulating in their body. Communities are told not to eat the meat, eggs or any food produced on their lands but, on Government's own Agricultural departments advice, farmers can 'legally' sell the contaminated food. These departments are informing people to go out and, not only break a federal law but, break a state law as well.
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So how is government facilitating not compling with their own laws under the Food Safety Act? Has the federal government enacted a new piece of law that overrides the Food Safety Act? And why does the consumer not have the right to know they are eating PFAS contaminated food? In state and federal based laws, the person should have the right to make informed choices for the food they buy to be free from misleading and deceptive conduct.
Make sure you read the FSANZ letter to the Board and their response - says it all. |
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Government have been ignoring consistent advice over the years from Australian beef industry advocates and cattle breeders' association, and again last year, to remove food producing people out of PFAS contaminated areas. Separate the food from the risk. This is a national issue with impacted farmers being screwed over by utter mismanagement of how to resolve PFAS contamination to food producing areas. Now that Europe and US have stricter controls on PFAS for food safety, how will Australia react?
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Australia now realises it needs to have inter-jurisdictional consistency on PFAS with the new Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standard - IChEMS
roadmap. BUT, and this is where Australia will have a problem as it also realises the need to have inter-global consistency otherwise Australia will be left behind at the negotiating table for chemical management and securing export agreements on food and agribusiness. |
Decisions made by the IChEMS Advisory Committee will reveal if there is a genuine intent to strengthen chemical management laws to protect our land, air and water. Also relevant is how this committee interacts with health messaging advice and management to match our international contemporaries so Australia stops being so contradictory and irresponsible.
Watch this space. |
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In Australia, the public didn't even know about PFAS contamination until 2015 but the federal government knew late last century and each States EPA department heads were briefed in early 2000's. In 2023, not much has changed. Federal and state government departments and agencies continue to deliberately inform and publicise incorrect and inconsistent information. There are still no maximum PFAS levels in food so heavily contaminated areas can legally sell contaminated produce to market. Exposed workers are poorly protected under each State's WorkSafe Acts with federal government giving legitimacy for their inaction pulling the bluff with each election cycle hoping the contrivance to undermine the seriousness of PFAS contamination continues.
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The lack of disclosures and labelling mean our vulnerable families, including children, are exposed daily to PFAS chemicals through everyday products that should not contain toxic PFAS.
For other international countries, the realisation of the impacts to people's health and the economy is now a priority. PFAS has been allowed to roam freely in our society for decades with the health and environmental costs growing substantially. Here in Australia, the community feel abandoned. Ultimately, there will be an even greater societal cost if the Australian government continue business as usual. |
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The issue for scientists is black & white - does PFAS cause health impacts and is PFAS associated with health impacts?
Science is based on different types of evidence that Australia chooses not to collect.
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Regulation is about using legislative powers to manage the risks to the people via a duty of care but if Government do not collect the data they can't manage the problem through statutory obligations - that's avoidance and our system of governance.
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