The New Zealand Defence Force is about to begin testing for the presence of PFAS compounds at some properties neighbouring Whenuapai Air Base.
Property owners have been contacted for permission to test ground and surface water on their properties and testing will also be carried out on nearby coastal sediment and marine life.
This follows the detection of PFAS at Whenuapai Air Base earlier this year and is a part of the central government investigation taking place at Defence Force bases across the country. An All of Government group, led by the Ministry for the Environment, is overseeing the PFAS programme of work.
PFAS compounds (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances - PFOS and PFOA) were used in some firefighting foams from the 1970s to 2000s. The Defence Force advise that they have not been supplied any foam products containing PFOS or PFOA above trace levels since at least 2002. No training with foams is carried out at the base currently.
Coral Grant, Auckland Council PFAS Project Manager, says that while Auckland Council is not involved in the government’s testing programme, the council has been consulted and has assisted the NZ Defence Force with their preliminary investigation by providing regional and locally specific information and knowledge of the area.
“The welfare of residents and the health of the surrounding environment is a priority for both Auckland Council and central government. The Defence Force is providing assistance and support to those whose properties will be tested.
“Once the Defence Force completes their testing Auckland Council will receive the investigation report and will work with central government agencies to understand its regulatory responsibilities regarding non-Crown owned land,” she says.
Drinking water unaffected
Drinking water at the base, the adjacent school, the village centre on Brigham Creek Road and the recently developed Special Housing Area comes from the town supply and is not affected.
Preliminary advice from the Defence Force’s consultants is that while some people may be using ground water at properties close to Whenuapai Air Base, the water is sourced from a bore at a depth of between 200-300 metres and below a thick layer of fine sediment that is expected to exclude PFAS. However, testing will confirm this.
Testing results are expected in six to eight weeks.
Health advice
Ministry of Health advice remains that there is no acute health risk from exposure to PFAS compounds.
There is currently no consistent evidence that environmental exposures to PFOS and PFOA causes adverse human health effects.
A recent study completed by an independent Expert Health Panel for the Australian Department of Health concluded there is mostly limited, or in some cases no evidence, that human exposure to PFAS is linked with human disease.
More information
More information about PFAS and the Government’s response, including health and food safety advice, is available on the Ministry for the Environment website.