In April this year, the US Environmental Protection Agency changed its recommendations on the safe limits of the ‘forever chemicals’ PFOA and PFOAS in drinking water down to four parts per trillion.
This change in policy profoundly altered the implications of a federally funded Australian study published by the University of Queensland in 2011. The study found high levels of PFOA and PFOS chemicals in half of the 34 samples of drinking water in Australia, including Canberra, where one PFOS sample taken during routine surveillance was more than seven times the new US limit.
Australian guidelines, set in 2018, allow 560 parts per trillion of PFOA and 70 parts per trillion of PFOS. However, based on the new, tougher US guidelines, local experts say we need to re-evaluate our approach to align with the knowledge there is no safe level of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in drinking water and they were likely to cause cancer.
What are PFOS and PFOA?
Per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances are man-made chemicals heavily used since the 1940s for their resistance to heat, water, grease and stains.
They are found in everyday appliances from non-stick pans to clothing, insecticides, food packaging and firefighting foam. Once in the environment, unlike most chemicals, they don’t break down which is where they get their ‘forever’ label.
What are the health implications?
PFOA and PFOS are linked to kidney and liver disease, thyroid dysregulation, reproductive problems, developmental problems and cancer.
They are considered bio-accumulative, meaning the danger is not in one-off contact but in repeated exposure that causes the effects to build up in your body.
What is being done?
Companies that manufacture forever chemicals such as 3M are paying out many millions of dollars in the US to people who have been exposed and have suffered cancer. Despite this, in Australia our regulatory agencies are still publicly resisting calls for action and continuing to say that there is no clear evidence PFOA and PFOS cause disease.
Despite the public denials, the Australian Government is proposing to halt the importation, manufacturing and use of three groups of PFAS chemicals by July 2025. These include biosolids that are spread on Australian farmlands in fertiliser, fibre-based food packaging and contaminated waste.
Local experts are calling for the government to conduct immediate widespread testing of the nation’s water supplies with the aim to better understand the extent of the problem and take action to reduce exposure to as close to zero as possible.
Editor’s note: This wellbeing column provides information that is general in nature. Please always refer to your preferred health professional for advice suited to your personal healthcare requirements.
