Perfluorinated chemicals (PFAS), considered unsafe in drinking water by the US, have been detected at water filtration plants across Sydney.
Scientists from Western Sydney University found perfluorooctane sulfonate in the livers of eight deceased platypuses. PFAS , known as " forever chemicals " have been detected in water filtration plant samples across Sydney.
The US Environmental Protection Agency considers there is no safe level of PFAS in drinking water, due to health risks it presents to humans, but the Australian government guidelines state there is a safe level of exposure. The Cascade water filtration plant at Katoomba and Blackheath supplies drinking water to more than 30,000 people in the Blue Mountains, where the latest results show the chemical is at levels four times what authorities in America would be forced to remove it.
"There is regular consultation between Sydney Water, WaterNSW and NSW Health to assess any potential risk of PFAS or any other contaminant to Sydney's drinking supply," the spokesperson said. The near-threatened monotremes were mostly collected from areas that are not known PFOS hotspots, fuelling concerns the chemicals are far more prevalent in Australia's environment than previously understood.
Katherine Warwick said their findings showed PFOS contamination was more widespread than they thought.Numerous studies have found PFOS are toxic to humans and can have harmful health effects such as liver and thyroid diseases, and are linked to some cancers.Hotspots in Australia tend to be around Royal Australian Air Force bases where firefighting foam that contained the man-made chemical was widely used.
The ninth platypus tested was the only one that virtually had none of the man-made chemical present in its liver.As this latest study suggests, PFOS bioaccumulates, meaning organisms take in more of the chemicals than they excrete.the platypuses are consuming the chemicals through their diet, and through sediment on the bottom of the creeks and rivers whilst consuming macroinvertebrates or water bugs that may also be contaminated.
Western Sydney University Platypus Forever Chemicals Monotreme Freshwater Ecosystems Contaminants Perfluorooctane Sulfonate Platypus Health Conservation Declining Population Near Threatened International Union For Conservation Of Nature Heavy Metal Contaminants Liver Samples Nsw Rivers
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