A chemical risk expert has slammed the Australian guidelines for drinking water due to the lack of control over per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in our drinking water.
Last year, the World Health Organisation announced that PFOA — which is a variant of PSFAs — is a class one human carcinogen. As a result, in April this year, the United States set nationwide regulations over the amount of contaminants allowed in public drinking water. According to the American organisation Cancer.Org, the lifetime health advisory levels are four parts per trillion PFOA and PFOS.
In a spicy interview with the ABC, Dr Mariann Lloyd-Smith — who acts as a senior policy advisor for the International Pollutants Elimination Network — claimed that Australia’s legal allowance for PSFAs in our drinking water is not good enough.
“Australia cannot continue to use drinking water guidelines that are an international embarrassment,” Lloyd-Smith said to ABC RN’s Life Matters.
“Australian standards … are out of date, out of touch and totally are not usable for protecting human health.”
“We really do need to move on these chemicals quickly. And particularly when it’s in drinking water — something that everybody has to consume. It just is totally unacceptable.”
Lloyd-Smith also claims that the current testing in place is “hit and miss” with treatment plants not doing enough to reduce the risk of PFAS chemicals.
But if you were thinking of rushing out to buy bottled water, don’t bother. Lloyd-Smith says that shit is contaminated too.
“We’ve found PFAS in bottled water too, so that’s not the solution,” she said.
Instead, she suggests thinking of your PFAS exposure as a whole and being mindful about things like makeup, food packaging and cleaning products.
Ultimately, Lloyd-Smith is urging the Australian Government to put limits on all known PFAS variations, and aim to “restrict and eliminate all uses of PFAS”.
What are PFOA and PFOS chemicals?
PFAS is the umbrella term for a group of 4000 chemicals also known as “forever chemicals”. They were discovered in the 1930s but became commonly used in the 1950s.
These chemicals contain carbon-fluorine bonds and are known as one of the strongest bonds in organic chemistry. They were developed to be good at resisting heat, stains, grease and water. They’re most commonly used as fire-fighting foam but can also be used for stain protection, and non-stick pan coatings, and can be present in cosmetics and sunscreen.
As a result, most Australians are expected to have a small level of PFAS in their blood but having too much can be incredibly toxic, leading to a range of health implications including increased cholesterol, reduced kidney function, and altered thyroid and sex hormones. PFOA and PFOS in particular have been linked to an increased risk of testicular and kidney cancer.
PFAS are also incredibly toxic for the environment because although their sturdiness is helpful in their uses, it is easily mobile and does not break down.
The government has recommended exposure to PFAS be limited as much as possible while further research on the long-term ramifications of the chemicals on humans is conducted.
What does the government have to say about it?
The Australian federal government says there is “currently limited evidence of human disease or other clinically significant harm resulting from PFAS exposure.” As a reuslt, the government claims that it is taking precautionary measures to manage the existing PFAS contamination and reduce human and environmental exposure where possible.
However, experts like Lloyd-Smith say there is plenty of evidence gathered by international sources to support that PFAS cause disease and that the government isn’t doing enough.
“Unbelievably though, our regulatory agencies here in Australia just dismiss all of this evidence, and say there’s no clear evidence that they cause disease, which honestly is beyond belief,” she told Nine News.
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is currently looking into PFAS in drinking water. According to the ABC, these results are expected in 2025. Meanwhile, the Water Services Associated Of Australia said that it is investing in research and working with its counterparts in the US but supports the ban on PFAS chemicals.
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