Federal Defence site PFAS contamination
“After knowingly poisoning their workers, neighbors and virtually every living being on the planet, PFAS polluters will finally – FINALLY – be held accountable,” said Activist and Actor Mark Ruffalo. “We have all paid for decades – in the forms of higher care costs and higher drinking water bills – for one of the greatest environmental crimes in history. Now, finally, the polluters must pay.”
“Polluters will inevitably seek to shirk their responsibilities, and some legislators will inevitably act as their lackeys. But today’s historic announcement sends an unmistakable message: They were poisoning us, it must stop, and they must pay,” added Ruffalo.
That's America. Australia has still not faced the truth, understood community outrage and, to their detriment, underestimated the rage inflicted on PFAS contaminated communities across Defence sites all around Australia.
“Polluters will inevitably seek to shirk their responsibilities, and some legislators will inevitably act as their lackeys. But today’s historic announcement sends an unmistakable message: They were poisoning us, it must stop, and they must pay,” added Ruffalo.
That's America. Australia has still not faced the truth, understood community outrage and, to their detriment, underestimated the rage inflicted on PFAS contaminated communities across Defence sites all around Australia.
The first lie - Australia is proactive on PFAS management
|
Not only is Australia misleading their own people but they are also misleading world organisations tasked with assessing and managing chemical substances of concern.
While Australia is pretending to the world of being proactive with regulatory measures aimed at reducing the environmental and health impacts of PFOS related substances, how can it be that two decades on and two senate inquiries, 2015-16 and 2018, Australia has still not adopted any inquiry recommendations nor removed the risk to the person. Government has continued the same outdated messaging, told farmers not to eat their own produce but are facilitating the on-selling of contaminated food for human consumption around the world in contravention to their own food safety acts. Defence PFAS pollution and government inaction is now being called out for the coverup and offence against our basic human rights. |
|
the Second lie - INDEPENDENT STUDIES
Defence is an Australian Government responsibility under the Constitution and the PFAS polluter of so many Defence sites around Australia and their communities. So, how does the federal government hold themselves to account to protect the public when they are actively trying to limit their liability.
And WHY are our local and state governments complicit - 'hear nothing, see nothing, say nothing'.
The sheer arrogance of the Australian Department of Defence and department heads has overseen a culture of divide and conquer resulting in a festering anger of divided communities pitting family against family, street against street, old friend against old friend. But Defence continued to ignore the outrage.
There can be no independence when the Australian Government commission health studies that have not been peer reviewed, have no terms of reference that are transparent, the polluter provides the data and the outcome is predetermined before the results are even published.
This is relevant when providing a mean average using the 95th percentile (95% of the time the data is below a set level, while 5% of the time the data is above this level) to potentially undermine the high levels of PFAS blood levels from screened population in heavily contaminated areas.
The research universities are compromising their own integrity gaining the system at the expense of the truth. Government is spending taxpayer money `to corrupt the science' & withhold valid research opportunities.
PFAS affected communities nearby Defence Force bases, Katherine in the Northern Territory, Oakey in Queensland and Williamtown in New South Wales, were presented with the most updated health report noting,
"The consistency of the findings of the ANU study with previous studies that have not identified direct links between PFAS and adverse health outcomes is encouraging. This study is the first significant piece of Australian research of this kind and we thank all those individuals who participated."
This whole PFAS pollution scandal continues to be a protection racket in Australia to hide the truth.
And WHY are our local and state governments complicit - 'hear nothing, see nothing, say nothing'.
The sheer arrogance of the Australian Department of Defence and department heads has overseen a culture of divide and conquer resulting in a festering anger of divided communities pitting family against family, street against street, old friend against old friend. But Defence continued to ignore the outrage.
There can be no independence when the Australian Government commission health studies that have not been peer reviewed, have no terms of reference that are transparent, the polluter provides the data and the outcome is predetermined before the results are even published.
This is relevant when providing a mean average using the 95th percentile (95% of the time the data is below a set level, while 5% of the time the data is above this level) to potentially undermine the high levels of PFAS blood levels from screened population in heavily contaminated areas.
The research universities are compromising their own integrity gaining the system at the expense of the truth. Government is spending taxpayer money `to corrupt the science' & withhold valid research opportunities.
PFAS affected communities nearby Defence Force bases, Katherine in the Northern Territory, Oakey in Queensland and Williamtown in New South Wales, were presented with the most updated health report noting,
"The consistency of the findings of the ANU study with previous studies that have not identified direct links between PFAS and adverse health outcomes is encouraging. This study is the first significant piece of Australian research of this kind and we thank all those individuals who participated."
This whole PFAS pollution scandal continues to be a protection racket in Australia to hide the truth.
The Third lie - who knew what & when
The Persistence and Toxicity of Perfluorinated Compounds in Australia -2016 Submission by National Toxics Network
As far back as 1950, studies conducted by 3M showed that the family of toxic fluorinated chemicals now known as PFAS could build up in our blood but hid the risks from the public.
For Australia, Defence already knew their fire grounds had potential for contamination in online public accessible documents related to fire training at the Oakey base in the 90's. There are also multitudes of news articles online and comment analysis of what is alleged -
...one of the oldest collections of human biological material for use in health and medical research in the world, has been successfully used and analysed to measure chemical levels in humans over a 20 year period.
...The levels increased more than sevenfold between 1975 and 1995.
The official timeline for alerts started in 2002, then a major Defence Environmental report in 2003
For Australia, Defence already knew their fire grounds had potential for contamination in online public accessible documents related to fire training at the Oakey base in the 90's. There are also multitudes of news articles online and comment analysis of what is alleged -
- Four Corners unearths 1987 report suggesting defence knew of contamination concerns earlier than thought
- Defence knew of firefighting foam dangers at Queensland base in 1991, class action alleges
- A comparison of responses to contamination of Australian Defence bases by the NSW and NT Environmental Protection Agencies.
...one of the oldest collections of human biological material for use in health and medical research in the world, has been successfully used and analysed to measure chemical levels in humans over a 20 year period.
...The levels increased more than sevenfold between 1975 and 1995.
The official timeline for alerts started in 2002, then a major Defence Environmental report in 2003
- 2000 - 2002 OECD led an international collaboration (including Australia) on the scientific assessment of PFOS chemicals.
- 2002 NICNAS alert providing 6 in total to 2008
- 2002 In addition, NICNAS alerts were disseminated to the states and territories (including Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), public health and environmental agencies) via the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) group (see entry for 12 September 2002) and also via regulatory linkages (see entry for 26 September 2003).
- 2003 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH DEFENCE USE OF AQUEOUS FILM FORMING FOAM (AFFF)
- 2004 UK study noted by Australia already had results from animal studies with prenatal development affects and postnatal deaths from PFOS exposures
- and many more since.
What the Federal Government did not do -
- Analysis the scope of PFOS contamination as this was available in Australia since at least 2005.
- Coordinate regulatory protocols to manage ongoing leaching of PFAS chemicals into groundwater and waterways shutting down all contaminated bores - ongoing.
- Stop irrigating food crops with PFAS contaminated bore water - ongoing.
- Stop on-selling known contaminated livestock and produce into the domestic and export market - ongoing.
- Proactively prevent or reduce exposures in those preceding years knowing PFAS were harmful and toxic to human health, pregnant women and the unborn child.
- Inform and educate the impacted communities about PFAS; and worst
- IMPLEMENT ANY RECOMMENDATIONS OF TWO SENATE INQUIRIES INTO DEFENCE PFAS CONTAMINATION.
What the Federal government did do, & continues to do -
- Started auditing their own sites for contamination in 2003 but did not inform the public well over a decade later.
- Tried to normalise PFAS contamination.
- Protected their Defence personal, removed them from contaminated areas and sold the houses to unsuspecting buyers.
- Protected the messaging to undermine the severity of the PFAS contamination and potential health effects in direct conflict to their own Communication and Engagement Guidelines.
- Ensured control around 'food safety'.
- Allowed contaminated livestock and food produce to be on-sold to unsuspecting consumers.
- Divided the community that much with misinformation the non-believers of the facts became cult followers of Defence's messaging.
Then there is the absolute ignorant -"There is no problem with the town water because I'm still alive after three months,"