“The Federal Government has crucially signed up to a nationally-agreed standard for dealing with PFAS clean up.
Australia’s Environment Ministers have endorsed the country’s first PFAS National Environmental Management Plan.
The plan provides governments with a framework for the environmental regulation of PFAS-contaminated materials and sites.
The plan, released late Friday, is seen as crucial for Katherine where a clean up of the leaking Tindal RAAF Base is yet to begin.
PFAS residue removed from contaminated town bore water is being stored at the base.
The Department of Defence said up to 30 drums of waste will be stored at the base over the next year…
The plan places standards on the transport of PFAS residue like that being taken from Katherine’s water treatment plant to Tindal, including the decontamination of vehicles and transport containers.
Construction of the toxic dumps require liners, engineered walls and ‘leachate collection and detection systems’.
Siting of the dump is expected to take into account –
- geology and hydrogeology
- community and stakeholder concerns
- sensitive receptors, such as key flora and fauna
- matters of national environmental significance and those protected by state and territory legislation
- surface water, including risks from extreme weather events and flooding
- existing contamination
- infrastructure
- ownership of the land
- local/state or territory regulations.”
Read the full article by Chris McLennan.