Upscale of investment into PFAS remediation recommended by The Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
The Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade released a report on 3 December 2018 outlining nine recommendations focused on improving the Commonwealth Government’s response to PFAS contamination.
The report follows an inquiry referred by the Senate, which commenced in May this year, to report on the management of PFAS contamination in and around Defence bases. The inquiry was undertaken by the PFAS Sub-Committee and the recommendations in the report consider the concerns of communities affected by PFAS contamination. The sub-committee invited individuals and organisations to make submissions and 81 submissions were received from individuals, organisations, government agencies and non-governmental agencies.
A significant recommendation in the report was for the Government to upscale investment in the remediation of contaminated land and water sources and also the containment of PFAS contamination plumes. The report states that the Coordinator-General, a proposed role to coordinate the national PFAS response with supporting resources, would be responsible for driving the associated activities.
Continued investment for research into remediation technologies, including options for the disposal of contaminated soil and residue from water-treatment plants, was identified as a key focus area. The Government is also advised to continue engaging with past PFAS manufacturers to ensure industry best practice approaches are taken in relation to the appropriate remediation and disposal of PFAS.
The Australian Research Council, a Commonwealth entity, announced $8.2 million in funding through the Special Research Initiative PFAS Remediation Research Program in October 2018. Nine research projects, all led by Australian universities, were awarded the funding for the development of new technologies to remediate PFAS. An additional $4.8 million of funding will be available in February 2019, also with a focus on remediation solutions.
Further collaboration and input from the public has also been identified as a priority. The sub-committee recommended that draft remediation and management plans for all PFAS investigation areas are published, with input sought from the public before finalisation. Consultation across state, territory and local governments is also being recommended to ensure a consistent national approach for the management of non-Commonwealth sites.
Summary of proposed recommendations
A summary of the recommendations are outlined below:
- Appoint a Coordinator-General to coordinate the Commonwealth Government’s national PFAS response.
- Continue to upscale investment in the containment of PFAS contamination plumes and remediation of contaminated land and water sources.
- Review existing advice in relation to human health effects of PFAS exposure and acknowledge any potential links to medical conditions.
- Undertake measures to improve participation in the voluntary blood-testing program for PFAS as soon as possible.
- Assist property owners and businesses in affected areas for demonstrated, quantifiable financial losses as a result of PFAS contamination through a flexible compensation scheme.
- Offer free financial counselling and individualised case management to those affected by PFAS contamination.
- Implement legislation and policies to:
- ban and safely destroy long-chain, PFAS-based firefighting foams
- restrict the use of non-essential, shorter-chain, PFAS-based foams
- encourage the use of PFAS-free alternatives.
- Authorise the listing of PFOS under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and expedite the process for ratification of PFOA and PFHxS.
- Initiate an independent review of the environmental regulation of Commonwealth land.
In response to the findings, the Government, through a joint media release by Assistant Minister for Defence and Minister for Environment, welcomed the release of report and noted that, “while there is still no consistent evidence of human health impacts, the Government acknowledges that communities in areas where PFAS contamination has been detected are very concerned about how this may affect them. Their wellbeing is our focus and we will continue to work closely with them to provide advice and assistance as quickly as possible”.
The full report is available here.
What does this mean for the industry?
The outcomes of the inquiry still reflect much of the uncertainty in relation to the environmental challenges associated with PFAS and the industry’s response to this, particularly in relation to remediation options.
Currently, many commercially available PFAS-impacted water-treatment technologies, such as granular activated carbon, ion exchange resin and reverse osmosis, transfer PFAS from water and concentrate it in other waste streams, requiring disposal management. These PFAS-laden wastes are dealt with off-site, retaining legacy and associated liability. In addition, there are also a range of soil remediation technologies available in the PFAS remediation market, including chemical separation processes, thermal desorption and immobilisation.
Significant industry research and investment is going into developing viable and cost-effective remediation solutions that will focus on the destruction, rather than the separation, of PFAS from soil and groundwater. We see this as a key focus area for the remediation industry over the coming year, as the aim is to ultimately remove the ongoing liability for managers of PFAS-impacted sites, rather than just transferring the issue to other media.
AECOM is currently undergoing a demonstration trial using an electrochemical oxidation system designed as an on-site technology that destroys PFAS compounds in waste water. The PFAS technology treatment system (DE-FLUORO™) uses a proprietary, durable, low-cost electrode and will be available to the market in the second half of 2019. Further information on the PFAS technology treatment system will be available in future editions of the PFAS Response.