Australia's health advice on PFAS contamination is well past its use-by date.
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Australian health experts say hundreds of PFAS studies have been produced globally in the past year as the world tries to come to grips with the health impacts of the "forever chemicals".
Much of Australia's current health advice is sourced from 2016 and 2017.
The main body of work, called the Expert Panel for PFAS Report said in May 2018 "the Panel concluded there is mostly limited or no evidence for any link with human disease from these observed differences. Importantly, there is no current evidence that supports a large impact on a person's health as a result of high levels of PFAS exposure.
"However, the Panel noted that even though the evidence for PFAS exposure and links to health effects is very weak and inconsistent, important health effects for individuals exposed to PFAS cannot be ruled out based on the current evidence."
Experts admit the health advice of PFAS having "no proven links" to contamination was likely no longer true.
PFAS once used in fire fighting foams at the Tindal RAAF Base contaminated the soil and groundwater in Katherine and still leaks under the fourth biggest town in the NT.
Elevated cholesterol was just one of the health impacts recorded by a number of studies and acknowledged by most experts, even in Australia.
This is one of the conclusions of the Federal Government's second parliamentary inquiry which quietly produced an update report just before Christmas last year.
Yet this investigation does not call on the government to produce updated health advice.
On the eve of the PFAS Sub-committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade resuming its probe again, the report has come to light.
This second investigation follows the first which was presented in December 2018, making nine recommendations to Government to better coordinate the national PFAS response, to improve monitoring of health impacts, and to compensate and better inform affected communities.
The government is yet to respond to that report.
During this second investigation, the sub-committee says it investigated the adequacy of the Government's health advice on the potential health impacts of PFAS contamination on staff and residents in and around defence bases.
"An underpinning concern among medical experts, advocates and community groups at that time was that the Government's health advice underplayed the potential risks of high PFAS ingestion and exposure, as indicated in some overseas studies," the committee was told.
The committee was told by the ANU's Professor Martyn Kirk an "astounding" volume of PFAS studies was now being produced around the world.
More than 70 to 100 studies of good quality were being published on PFAS related impacts each year, the committee was told.
There were 1800 investigations of sites being undertaken in the United States and PFAS was now a "big issue" in European Union and other countries.
The results of a study into blood testing at Williamtown, Oakey and Katherine are expected to published by the end of this year.
The ANU will compare the results "to those in an otherwise similar non-exposed, comparison population".
Chair of the PFAS Sub-committee Dr John McVeigh noted that the national regulatory framework for environmental management of PFAS -per- and poly- flouroalkyl substances- is under review.
"With safe levels for PFAS concentrations in soil and water being made more stringent, there will be new obligations for Government to focus on its PFAS remediation efforts", Dr McVeigh said.
Last year the Committee's first report, tabled out of session on December 20, documented Defence's progress using new cleaning technologies to purge PFAS from soil and water at affected Defence sites around Australia.
The PFAS Sub-committee's program of review will continue the following week with the Department of Health.
Invitations seeking feedback on evidence to date will also be sought in the course of the year.
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