UNSW expert available for comment on new PFAS guidelines
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has today announced proposals to update their guidelines for PFAS in drinking water.
Professor Denis O’Carroll, managing director of the UNSW Water Research Laboratory, recently led an led an international study which showed that much of our global source water exceeds PFAS safe drinking limits.
He said of the new NHMRC guidelines:
"PFAS constitute a class of over 14,000 chemicals that have been extensively used in industrial applications and consumer products around the world and are a serious health concern.
"For example, the World Health Organization lists perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as a Group 1 carcinogen and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) as a Group 2B carcinogen.
"The Australian government should consider inclusion of a wider range of PFAS in the drinking water guidelines, as is common in a number of other countries.
"International organisations (eg the European Union and the US Centers for Disease Control) have serious health concerns about a much wider range of PFAS than those subject to Australian guidelines.
"These new proposed drinking water guidelines for Australia are much less stringent than those of the European Union, the United States and Canada.
"The new Australian drinking water guidelines do not include all PFAS on the Stockholm Convention list, which are in place for the protection of human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
"In a study led by UNSW earlier this year, and published in Nature Geoscience, we found that PFAS levels in many of our international drinking source water exceeds drinking water guidance levels and that international guidance is much more stringent than Australia.
"Much more work is required to map out PFAS contamination in Australian source waters, and the government urgently needs to take a range of action.
"These include funding research to better understand the health and ecosystem risks posed by a wide range of PFAS; improve our understanding of the environmental fate of PFAS; and develop cost effective PFAS drinking water technologies."
For more information or to speak further with Prof. O'Carroll, please contact:
Professor Denis O'Carroll - 0448258831
Neil Martin, UNSW News & Content Coordinator - n.martin@unsw.edu.au
NOTE:
The NHMRC has proposed updating their drinking water guidelines, suggesting an acceptable level of:
• 200ng/L for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
• 4ng/L for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS)
• 30ng/L for perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS)
• 1000ng/L for perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS)
Key Facts:
Comment available from Professor Denis O’Carroll, managing director of the UNSW Water Research Laboratory, regarding new NHMRC guidelines on PFAS in drinking water.
Contact details:
Professor Denis O'Carroll - 0448258831
Neil Martin, UNSW News & Content Coordinator - n.martin@unsw.edu.au
