Ratepayers will likely cover PFAS contamination costs, Blayney mayor says
Last year the Belubula River, which flows through the Central West region, was found to be tainted by PFAS chemicals.
Blayney Shire Council's landfill sits above a tributary to the river and studies by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) show the site is a source of PFAS contamination in the Belubula.
In March the EPA told the council it would have to pay to fix the problem.
"We're being charged to remove contamination for what is still a legal product here in Australia," Mayor Bruce Reynolds said.
Waste facilities are known to be a significant secondary source of PFAS, which is a family of about 15,000 chemicals with heat-resistant, non-stick and waterproof properties.
They can take hundreds of years to break down and are highly mobile in the environment.
The cost of onsite treatment at the Blayney tip, which has been operating for 100 years, has been estimated at more than $400,000 and the cost of ongoing investigation and monitoring estimated at more than $110,000.
The council has also been forced to stop using a part of the landfill that has an unlined cell.
It estimates the cost of bringing the infrastructure up to EPA standards could exceed $1 million.
"We may be the pioneers — others may have to follow," Cr Reynolds said.
The council has flagged that it may hike garbage rates by 10 per cent and increase its waste levy by 16 per cent in 2026.
In a statement the EPA said it was looking at introducing PFAS monitoring at all landfill sites in NSW.
"Landfills have been recognised as a secondary source of PFAS in the environment, though modern engineered landfills minimise the risk of a range of contaminants impacting surrounding environments," a spokesperson said.
The authority said it had been working closely with Blayney council since December 2023 to better manage leachate migration from the site and was assessing three grant applications.
PFAS has been a concern for the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR), which represents multi-nationals, small businesses and local governments.
In its submission to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into PFAS Contamination in Waterways and Drinking Water Supplies, the peak body said the industry could be forced to deal with an issue it did not create.
The WMRR described the Commonwealth's move to ban the import, export, use and manufacture of three types of PFAS from 1 July 2025 as "too little, too late".
"The ban should be on all types of PFAS, otherwise the government will simply be playing catch up as companies switch to other types of PFAS," its submission reads.
"The EU moved to ban PFAS years ago, with the United States introducing tougher drinking water standards and moving to eliminate it from food supply."
This week the Australian Bureau of Statistics released a national baseline for PFAS levels in blood and found three types of PFAS were detected in more than 85 per cent of the population.
The dataset was created to track PFAS levels over time and to support research into its potential impacts on human health.
The ABS noted that there was "an association between higher PFAS levels and some abnormally high chronic disease biomarkers", but said the finding did not confirm a direct cause.
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ABC News
6 minutes ago
- ABC News
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News.com.au
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