Australian Senate inquiry to investigate dangers of PFAS

Canberra, Aug 22 (IANS) A Senate inquiry has been established to investigate the dangers posed by "forever chemicals" to the Australian public.

The governing Labour Party on Thursday agreed to support independent Senator Lidia Thorpe's proposal for a parliamentary inquiry into the health and environmental impacts of per-and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals, Xinhua news agency reported.

Also known as "forever chemicals" due to their persistence in the environment and human body, PFAS encompasses more than 10,000 synthetic chemicals used in products including firefighting foam, food packaging, non-stick pans, cosmetics and clothing.

According to Australia's Department of Health, exposure to certain PFAS chemicals including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) has been linked to an increased risk of testicular and kidney cancer.

The inquiry will be chaired by Thorpe, who said it would examine the sources that expose Australians to PFAS, the extent of their presence in the environment, consumer goods and food systems, their health, environmental, social, cultural and economic impact and how regulation can be strengthened to protect Australians.

"These chemicals already affect every single person in the world, yet not enough is being done to manage our exposure to them and reduce the risks," she said in the Senate.

"We've already seen worrying instances of cancer clusters with suspected links to PFAS chemicals. We cannot take them seriously enough."

Sydney Water on Tuesday confirmed that testing conducted in June and July detected PFAS at several drinking water catchments across the city for the first time.

The highest levels were found in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney at Cascade Dam, which supplies water to nearly 30,000 people, where the chemical PFOS was found at a concentration of 0.0164 micrograms per litre.

Japan's Food Safety Commission in June assessed the allowable daily intake of PFOS for a person as 20 nanograms per 1 kg of body weight after the US Environmental Protection Agency in April found there was no safe level of exposure to the chemical.

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