With little or no fanfare, enHealth, charged with providing health advice to Australian and New Zealand citizens, last month upgraded its warnings on PFAS.

The Australian PHAS health advice remains very different to most of those from around the world.

EnHealth said it had revised its guidance statement after three years "to reflect the most current evidence relating to PFAS".

The updated advice "offers more detail about the types of effects on the human body that may be associated with PFAS exposure", enHealth says.

"For example, latest evidence suggests PFAS exposure has been associated with mildly elevated levels of cholesterol, effects on kidney function and effects on the levels of some hormones. However, these effects are small - generally within ranges seen in the general population."

"PFAS has not been shown to cause disease in humans," enHealth says.

"Importantly, the 2019 statements reinforce the advice to avoid exposure to PFAS. While exposure to PFAS probably has minimal impact on human health, as a precaution, people living in PFAS contaminated areas should minimise their exposure to PFAS until more evidence is gathered on possible health effects."

The advice goes on to say - "Some people who live or work in areas that have been contaminated with PFAS, might have been exposed to higher levels of PFAS through food or drinking water. They are advised to minimise their exposure until there is more known about possible impacts on health."

Earlier advice from the Expert Health Panel for PFAS found that although the scientific evidence in humans is limited, reviews and scientific research to date have provided fairly consistent reports of an association with several health effects:

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