PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a group of manufactured chemicals. They're used to make products resistant to heat, stains, grease and water. There are thousands of types of PFAS, including:
- perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)
- perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
- perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS).
Products that contain PFAS include:
- clothing
- cosmetics and sunscreens
- fast food or packaged food containers
- furniture and carpets treated for stain resistance
- non-stick cookware.
In the past, firefighting foams also contained PFAS. Some foams may still contain PFAS.
There are low levels of PFAS in soil, sediment, water and animals across most of Victoria. Some locations, such as firefighting training sites, have higher levels.
There's worldwide concern about PFAS because they:
- are widely used
- stay in the environment for a long time
- move easily through animals, water and land
- can build up in animals and people.
PFAS and related compounds are imported into Australia for industrial and chemical manufacturing. This includes mist suppressants and coatings.
PFOS and PFOA may be present in some imported consumer products. Many countries have phased out or are phasing out the use of PFOS and PFOA. This has resulted in other PFAS being substituted for these chemicals.
PFAS and the law
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants(opens in a new window) is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Australia ratified the convention on 20 May 2004 and became a party on 18 August 2004. It requires parties to take measures to eliminate or reduce the release of POPs into the environment. The convention covers PFOS, its salts and PFOS-related chemicals.
The Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme(opens in a new window) assesses the risks of importing or manufacturing industrial chemicals and promotes their safe use. This includes PFAS.
Manage PFAS contamination
PFAS-contaminated waste is given the waste code M270.
For thresholds for the categories of PFAS-contaminated waste (including soil), visit Waste disposal categories – characteristics and thresholds. If you detect types of PFAS that are not listed, you must apply for a designation for that waste.
Duties apply to depositing, transporting and receiving industrial waste. These are:
- duties of persons managing priority waste
- duties of persons depositing industrial waste
- duties of persons receiving industrial waste
- duty of persons transporting reportable priority waste
- duty to notify of transaction in reportable priority waste
- duty to investigate alternatives to waste disposal.
The general environmental duty applies activities with a risk of harm to human health or the environment.
The PFAS National Environmental Management Plan (NEMP)(opens in a new window) establishes a practical basis for nationally consistent environmental guidance and standards for managing PFAS contamination. Learn more about managing PFAS-contaminated materials and waste.
Duties also apply to managing land that is contaminated with PFAS. Learn more about contaminated land and groundwater.
Our role in PFAS
It's our responsibility to:
- regulate the disposal and reuse of PFAS-affected materials, such as soil
- provide environmental public health information about PFAS
- expand scientific knowledge about PFAS pollution in soil, water, groundwater and landfill leachate.
This includes:
- assessing applications to treat, reuse or dispose of PFAS-affected materials
- imposing conditions on any treatment, reuse or disposal of PFAS-affected materials
- issuing remedial notices to order the investigation and clean-up of pollution, including PFAS
- issuing alerts and consumption advice about PFAS
- monitoring the environment for PFAS and other chemicals.
We also have the authority to classify or reclassify waste – including PFAS-affected material – so it can be either:
- treated
- reused with strict conditions
- disposed of at a premises authorised to receive it.
To help us understand the distribution and concentration of PFAS in the environment, we assess ambient concentrations of PFAS present in:
- soil
- water
- sediment
- groundwater
- plants
- fish
- waterfowl
- livestock.
Learn more about how we monitor water quality.
We work with academia, industry and other government organisations to understand how PFAS moves through ecosystems and where it ends up.
We have an emerging contaminants program dedicated to collecting samples and analysing the occurrence, concentration, and spatial distribution of emerging contaminants in the Victorian environment. This includes PFAS.
We support and use the Commonwealth PFAS National Environmental Management Plan(opens in a new window). This plan provides a framework for the environmental regulation of PFAS-contaminated materials and sites.
The PFAS NEMP forms part of overall assessments rather than providing strict compliance limits. The PFAS NEMP will be directly relevant when:
- determining the impact of an activity on human health and the environment
- any measures the applicant has taken in order to comply with the GED.
- the general environmental duty (GED)
- the duty to manage contaminated land
- permissions assessments.
Impact of PFAS on your health
Most people are exposed to low levels of PFAS from using products that contain PFAS compounds or from eating food or drinking water with PFAS in it.
Recent studies show that people's exposure to PFAS in the general environment is reducing.
Scientific studies in animals have shown some links between PFAS exposure and adverse health effects. While PFAS have been associated with a wide range of adverse human health effects – such as cancer and immune problems – there is limited evidence of human disease resulting from environmental exposure to PFAS.
While scientific research continues into how PFAS affects human health, we take a precautionary approach.
For more information about the movement and adverse effects of PFAS in the environment, read Summary of PFAS concentrations detected in the environment in Victoria.
Manage your exposure to PFAS
As part of our precautionary approach, we advise that you take care and reduce your exposure to PFAS. This is in line with the guidance from the federal Environmental Health Standing Committee (enHealth)(opens in a new window).
Ways to reduce exposure to PFAS include:
- avoid products containing PFAS
- check the ingredients in personal care products
- follow our advice when we issue alerts about PFAS
- wash your hands after touching soil.
PFAS in local waterways
The use of PFAS at Melbourne Airport over many years has impacted soil, groundwater and surface water, both on and off-site. In 2018, data from the airport showed high levels of PFAS at some locations in waterways adjacent to the airport.
In 2018 and 2019 we sampled local waterways around the airport area. This resulted in consumption advice to recreational fishers for fish caught from Arundel Creek, and from the Maribyrnong River upstream of Calder Freeway to Deep Creek at Bulla.
Our Risk assessment with consumption of recreationally caught fish in Maribyrnong report presents the data and risk assessment on which we based this advice. For more information about PFAS at the airport, visit APAM – PFAS Management(opens in a new window).
In 2021, we issued precautionary advice following testing of PFAS concentrations across Victoria. We tested fish for PFAS in waterways due to suspected contamination from land-based sources. For more information, read Consumption advice for recreationally caught fish.
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