In short:
Contaminated foam has been appearing in a river in Central West New South Wales.
Concerned livestock producers have discovered the foam contains the harmful chemical PFOS, from the group of substances known as PFAS.
What’s next?
The state’s environmental watchdog has undertaken testing and is due to release its results next week.
Farmers in Central West NSW are raising the alarm after finding a stretch of river covered in foam containing the notorious “forever chemical” PFOS.
Over the past six months, cattle farmers Mike and Frances Retallack have noticed strange things in the Belubula River, which snakes through their properties and waters their livestock.
“We’ve seen big banks of foam we’d never seen before,” Mike Retallack said.
His neighbour, Anthony Dunhill, whose farm lies on the Retallack’s western border, has noticed the same thing.
“In my lifetime, there’s always been some foam down that river, but the size of a grapefruit,” he said.
“This stuff is coming down the size of bathtubs and I’ve never, ever seen that before.”
Guy Fitzhardinge, whose prime beef operation also neighbours the Retallacks, agreed.
“It’s maybe 50 to 75 millimetres above the surface of the water,” he said.
“It’s like a bubble bath.”
Foam samples tested
Frances Retallack collected samples of the foam in May and twice in July.
She sent the samples to Australian Laboratory Services for testing.
It found the foam contained PFOS — a man-made compound historically favoured for its exceptional firefighting and repellent abilities — at 1,800 times the safe drinking water guideline.
“We have several chemicals in the PFAS family, in particular, PFOS,” Ms Retallack said.
“We have huge amounts of hydrocarbons. So, diesel and multiple heavy metals in excess of any standard required for healthy river or drinking water.”
Ms Retallack also called the Environment Protection Authority (EPA).
Its representatives attended her property in July to collect samples themselves.
Ms Retallack’s husband, Mike, feared their ability to graze livestock on their property could be compromised.
“We might get into trouble for selling our stock and then we’re out of business,” he said.
What is PFOS?
Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) is one of a group of perfluorinated chemicals commonly referred to as PFAS.
Lauded for its water and stain-resistant qualities, PFOS appears in a huge range of applications from firefighting foam to potato chip packaging and even furniture fabric and sunscreen.
PFAS expert and head of Sydney University’s civil engineering school, Professor Stuart Khan, said it was a “very useful chemical”.
“But it’s a chemical that doesn’t break down in the environment,” he said.
“So, in cases where it’s released into the environment, it can cause all sorts of long-term pollution problems.”
A growing body of research also indicates that long-term exposure causes cancers and immunological effects.
Professor Khan said the concentration of the chemical in the Belubula River would make the water source “completely unsuitable” as a drinking supply if the foam occurred over the long term.
PFOS in our food
Professor Khan said while less information was known about health implications for exposed livestock, the science showed animal tissue and organs absorbed PFOS.
“We’re trying to limit our exposure to these chemicals, so we don’t want to create more exposure routes via food,” he said.
Meat producer peak body Safemeat said only the European Union had implemented maximum residue levels (MRL) for PFAS in meat.
As a 2021 Food Standards Australian New Zealand study found that PFAS was generally low in Australian food, Australia has no MRL requirements.
Safemeat chairman John Webster said this put individual Australian livestock producers, exposed to high point-source PFAS, “in limbo”.
“On the one hand there’s no general problem,” he said.
“But on the other, they may well be exposed to PFAS levels that exceed Food Standards Australia’s guidelines.”
Watchdog continues testing
All three properties experiencing foam events on the Belubula River share the southern border with Newmont’s Cadia gold mine.
There is no suggestion Cadia gold mine is responsible for the foam appearing on the river.
The same landholders confronted the gold mine last year, saying it was polluting their air.
The mine later pleaded guilty to three counts of air pollution breaches in the Land and Environment Court.
A spokesperson for the mine said it last used PFOS and PFOA in 2015 and was currently in compliance with all waterway monitoring.
Cadia is not required by the EPA to monitor for PFAS chemicals.
The EPA has not yet released its final foam testing results.
“We have reviewed preliminary results from water and foam samples taken on 4 July. These showed the presence of surfactants, and we have requested further analysis to determine if they are synthetic,” the statement said.
However, a spokesperson confirmed the tests did show PFOS in the Belubula River was above ecological guidelines.
They said the presence of PFOS in water and foam samples does not necessarily mean there is a risk to human health or livestock.
“We continue to monitor surface water in the region and will share the final results with the community as soon as they are available,” they said.
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