Residents set to sue NSW government and Sydney Water over 'Erin Brockovich-level scandal'
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of 15,000 highly toxic, synthetic chemicals resistant to heat, stains and grease, dubbed 'forever chemicals' because of their inability to break down.
High-level contamination was detected in the drinking water catchment serving 30,000 people in the Blue Mountains in NSW in mid-2024.
PFAS levels were found to be about 300 times higher than Sydney 's main drinking water source but they still met Australian guidelines for safe drinking water.
An eight-month WaterNSW investigation released on Friday zeroed in on three potential sources of contamination, dating as far back as 33 years ago.
John Dee, a veteran environmental activist, described the fallout as an 'Erin Brockovich-level scandal'.
He's leading a group called Stop PFAS that will sue the NSW government and Sydney Water to get free PFAS blood testing for local residents and compensation for those affected.
'People in the Blue Mountains have been drinking toxic tap water for 32 years,' he told AAP.
Results of tests paid for by some residents have found PFAS in the bloodstream nearly 50 times the level considered safe by chemicals manufacturer 3M.
Local resident Nick A'hern had 46 nanograms per millilitre of PFAS, contained in firefighting foam and considered carcinogenic.
While the value of individual blood tests is debated among scientists, exposure to PFAS increases the risk of testicular and kidney cancer, affecting the immune system and causing developmental damage in children.
Mr A'hern has had prostate cancer while his wife has had bowel cancer and their 33-year-old son was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
'None of the cancers we've had have been in our family lineage,' he told AAP.
'It's a pretty insane coincidence.
'All the kids used to swim in the dams and the water catchments. We just want to know if they're safe.'
A spokesperson for Sydney Water said it would work with other agencies to ensure it met the proposed Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
Health authorities say current drinking water meets existing guidelines and is safe to drink.
The WaterNSW investigation found contamination of two dams used for Blue Mountains' drinking water may have occurred after separate motor vehicle accident sites on the Great Western Highway in 1992 and 2002 near the Medlow Bath township.
The town's fire station was also a possible source of contamination.
Test samples at all three sites revealed the chemical compound signature consistent with the historical use of PFAS-containing fire-fighting foam, banned nationwide in 2007.
Medlow Dam and Greaves Creek Dam will remain disconnected from the water supply system until permanent mitigation measures are in place.
Steep terrain, potential PFAS spread over a wide geographical region and extensive disturbance of high-value ecological habitat are all flagged as barriers to remediation.
The report did not quantify the current rate of PFAS discharge from potential source areas in surface water and groundwater, nor the total mass of PFAS previously discharged.
Risks to human health and the environment from exposure to PFAS at the source areas have also not been quantified.
After community pressure, Sydney Water installed a $3.4 million mobile PFAS treatment plant at the Blue Mountains catchment in January.
University of Western Sydney water scientist Ian Wright accused water agencies of having 'pretty average governance of water contamination'.
The National Health and Medical Research Council drafted new drinking water guidelines in October, reducing the benchmark for the PFOA group of chemicals.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
Prolonged hot weather may be fuelling rise in obesity rates, study suggests
BLAME your belly on the sunshine, say scientists - as hot weather makes us gain weight. A study in Australia estimated that someone's risk of being obese increases by 0.2 per cent for every day of the year that is warmer than 30C. Sweltering summer days might slow our metabolism by wrecking our sleep, put us off exercising, and have us reaching for fattening fizzy drinks to cool off. The UK has enjoyed an early start to summer this year, with eleven 30C days so far. The Met Office says 2025 is one of only three years on record to have had so many by July – with 2018 and 1976. Research led by the University of Adelaide compared rates of obesity and weather across eight Australian states between 2006 and 2022. It found citizens in the hottest areas were more likely to be obese and as an area's temperatures increased so did the number of fat people. Writing in the journal Economics & Human Biology, the study authors said: 'High temperatures can make outdoor activities and physical activities less appealing, leading to a sedentary lifestyle which has been shown to increase obesity. 'Further, extreme temperatures can cause heat-related sleep disturbances that influence metabolism. 'Temperature shocks can also affect the body's metabolism and appetite. 'High temperatures may suppress appetite in the short term, but can also lead to increased consumption of high-calorie, sugary beverages for cooling and hydration.' Two thirds of British adults are overweight and about 30 per cent are obese, raising their risk of cancer, dementia and heart diseases. I put my 11-year-old daughter on fat jabs after she got bullied for her weight - people judge me but I don't care The researchers suggested people in areas that are normally cold – such as the UK – might be more vulnerable. They added: 'We find that the effects of extreme temperature on obesity are more pronounced for people living in states with general cold climates and for older people compared to younger people.' 1
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Erin is a gentle and beloved single mum in Melbourne. She's just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's at 29
At just 29, Melbourne mum Erin Kelly is facing the heartbreaking reality that she's living on borrowed time. A single parent to her eight-year-old daughter Evie, Erin has recently been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's - a devastating blow made even more cruel by its rare genetic cause. Now she's in a race against the clock to fund the one treatment that could slow it down. 'There's no chance of me reaching retirement age so I'm doing everything I can now, while I still can,' Erin told the Daily Mail. Alzheimer's typically strikes later in life, but for Erin, it's deeply personal, and terrifyingly genetic. In May 2024, the young mum discovered she carries a rare mutation of the PSEN1 gene, one that guarantees she will develop Alzheimer's earlier than normal. Only about 200 families worldwide carry it. 'With young onset Alzheimer's, they (the specialists) said only 1 per cent of young onset Alzheimer's cases are caused by a genetic mutation,' Erin said. 'I always knew there was a 50/50 chance I'd develop it later in life. But even with my family history, I never imagined it would happen to me this early.' Erin lost her mum to Alzheimer's when she was just 17. Her mum was only 50. After further digging, she's now found out that eight members of her extended family have battled the disease too. However, the PSEN1 mutation is what makes Erin's diagnosis so rare and so aggressive. Doctors can't say much without more tests, but have told Erin that her life expectacny is between another eight to 15 years. The official diagnosis came in July, following a year-long journey of MRIs, specialist consultations and anxious waiting. It was Erin's father who first urged her to get tested for the mutation in May 2024, after she began noticing small lapses and mixed-up words, which she initially dismissed. 'A year ago I contacted Alzheimer's Australia, but they originally said they couldn't help because I didn't have a confirmed diagnosis yet,' she said. 'So, I reached out to many others including neurologists, and they all said they didn't really know what to do with me. But then I ended up with a geriatrician [a doctor specialising in the care of the elderly], and he is helping.' Despite early symptoms and a clear family history, getting answers has been slow and costly. Specialists charged up to $500 a visit. Each scan costs her hundreds more. She has since been referred to a neuropsychologist, speech therapist and dietitian - but couldn't afford to see any of them. Even a medical drink called Souvenaid, formulated to support memory in Alzheimer's patients, was too expensive at $100 a month. 'I've had to pick and choose what I can pay for. I just can't justify that as well, given the position we're in,' she said. Despite her diagnosis, Erin was told she is too young to qualify for Australian clinical trials or subsidised treatment. 'It's like they don't know what to do with me,' she said. But there is a treatment that could help, which is a breakthrough infusion drug called Leqembi. Leqembi, which is administered as an infusion every two weeks, has been shown to slow the progression of Alzheimer's by up to 30 per cent. It works by targeting and removing the sticky amyloid plaques that kill brain cells and cause cognitive decline. There's just one problem - it's only available on a case-by-case basis for people aged 50 to 90, and at a staggering cost of $90,000. 'My doctor basically said that I don't cover a lot of the criteria. But if I can supply the money, then I've got a much higher chance of being accepted,' she said. Since Evie was six weeks old, it's been just the two of them. Erin has poured every ounce of her energy into raising her daughter and building a stable life. Now, she's fighting to hold onto that life and the precious time she has left. She's started creating photo books and writing letters for Evie, capturing memories and family stories she fears she won't be able to tell one day. 'I want her to remember who I was. Who her grandmother was, too, as I'm the only one who can tell her that,' she said. A breakthrough infusion drug called Leqembi could delay Erin's symptoms by up to 30 per cent, but she is too young to qualify for it - unless she can pay $90,000 Erin's family hopes to raise the full $90,000 to cover ongoing treatments and give her a fighting chance at slowing the disease in its tracks. If treatment becomes impossible, the funds will help create lasting memories with Evie too, as well as special time together, and the chance to simply live while she still can. 'She's not asking for a miracle,' her stepsister Jessica said. 'She's just asking for more time.'
The Guardian
15 hours ago
- The Guardian
Sorry America, but it's not Australia's fault that your healthcare system is failing you
If I were president of the United States, I would certainly be concerned about the cost and performance of the country's healthcare system. The grim statistics are well known. As of 2022, the US spent $12,555 per person on healthcare, almost twice as much as other wealthy countries, including Australia. That gap alone cancels out about half of the difference in income per person between the US and Australia, according to World Bank estimates. Higher expenditure on healthcare would not be a problem if it delivered a healthier population. But this is not the case. The US has one of the lowest life expectancies of any rich country. And even though more Americans die young, those who survive have worse health than elsewhere. Americans suffer from chronic diseases like diabetes, asthma and depression at around twice the (age-adjusted) rate of other rich countries. This gap is too large to be accounted for by specific causes like gun violence or drug overdoses, or even unequal income distribution. The US has worse health outcomes at every point on the income distribution scale than other rich countries, even though those at the upper end have much higher incomes. Sign up: AU Breaking News email And the problem is getting worse. The US saw declining life expectancy in the years after 2014 and, unlike other countries, saw a late, limited recovery from the increased death rate after the onset of the Covid pandemic. There's not much hope for rapid progress in US health outcomes. The destruction of US public health infrastructure through budget cuts, the gutting of key agencies such as the Center for Disease Control and the appointment of notorious anti-vaxxer RFK Jr as secretary of health and human services will only make matters worse. It's unsurprising then that President Donald Trump is looking at the cost side of the equation. As might be expected he has raised, again, the perennial grievances of US health policy. This is the fact that Americans pay far more for prescription medicines than do citizens of other countries where prices are controlled through mechanisms like Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). And, given his grievance-based approach to the world in general, it is no surprise that his latest statement on the topic describes Australia and other countries as 'freeloaders' on the US. The US government is, of course, entirely within its rights to set its own policy regarding the pricing of prescription drugs. The US Department of Veterans Affairs already has a program similar to the PBS, under which it pays about half as much of the typical US price. There is no reason this couldn't be extended to the entire US Medicare system, except that the result would be to close down 1,000 or more private plans, each with their own lobbyists. And with a bit more effort, the US could establish its own version of the PBS, covering all Americans. Quite possibly, faced with lower prices in the US, pharmaceutical companies might demand higher returns from other countries including Australia. But a systematic reform of this kind is beyond the capacity of the Trump administration. Instead we have seen the typical Trumpian claim that other countries are benefiting unfairly from medical research done in the US. This was arguably true in the second half of the 20th century when the US was the undoubted centre of global medical research, most notably through the National Institutes of Health. But funding for the NIH (adjusted for inflation) peaked in 2004, and has suffered from decades of financial stringency. Meanwhile, the US share of genuine innovations, measured by 'new molecular entities' has declined and is no longer notably larger (relative to GDP) than that of leading European innovators. The development of semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy) treatments for obesity and diabetes by Danish firm Novo Nordisk is a notable example of a drug of particular importance to the US being developed in Europe. More generally, if Trump wants to import ideas like the PBS into the US system, Australia has plenty to offer. Australia's Medicare system, combining a single-payer universal scheme for standard healthcare with private insurance and fee-for-service medicine as an upper tier, could provide a politically palatable way of delivering the US demand for 'Medicare for all' without destroying the private sector. But of course, this isn't the Trump way. What we will doubtless see, as in the recent tariff negotiations, is a series of bullying demands, resulting in triumphant announcements of magnificent deals, which turn out, on closer inspection, to be largely illusory. The bigger lesson for Australia in all of this is that, as with China, we need to treat the US not as an ally or friend but as a trading partner which will seek to push us around whenever possible. The correct response, again as with China, is to stand our ground until the other side sees the pointlessness of bullying and the mutual benefits of free exchange. John Quiggin is a professor at the University of Queensland's school of economics
