PFAS have been detected in the catchment area at levels within Australia’s drinking water guidelines but above US safety thresholds. They’re even in wildlife such as platypuses.
Sydney Water has confirmed for the first time that cancer-linked “forever chemicals” have been detected across the city’s drinking water catchments.
PFAS chemicals, or per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have been used for decades to make products resistant to heat, stains, grease and water and have been a billion-dollar industrial powerhouse for Wall Street giant 3M. Sydney Water conducted an additional round of sampling of the Cascade water filtration plant after levels of PFAS discovered at Katoomba and Blackheath were higher than those at the other sites.The levels detected were quadruple the maximum limit at which PFAS must be removed from drinking water supplies in America.
The synthetic chemicals accumulate in the environment, said Katherine Warwick, lead author of a new study that showed alarming levels of PFAS in the bodies of platypuses in coastal NSW, even those in seemingly pristine waterways.
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