“Some groundwater at Devonport Naval Base has 50 to 100 times more firefighting foam contamination than the recommended maximum, according to test results released to RNZ under the Official Information Act.
The highest single result was from October 2016 at Monitoring Well Three, at 14,000 times above the maximum recommended for recreational water use.
‘Our expert advisors have concluded that it was likely this sample was cross-contaminated,’ the Defence Force said in a statement.
‘This issue highlights the need to consider more than a single reading when drawing conclusions, which is why we are doing multiple rounds of testing,’ the statement said.
An April 2017 test of the same well found 85 micrograms per litre of water – still 120 times the recommended maximum of 0.7 micrograms…
Last week, official investigators discovered two firetrucks full of PFOS foam at Nelson Airport, despite a ban since 2006.
Drinking water guidelines have a maximum that is 10 times lower than for recreational water.
However, the Defence Force has insisted no drinking water at Devonport or its Papakura base is affected…
Preliminary tests are ongoing at Whenuapai, where Auckland city councillor Wayne Walker has expressed concern some local people may be drinking from contaminated bores outside the airbase.
The Auckland Council only learned of the groundwater contamination last week after RNZ reported on it, but has refused a request for an interview…
The Defence Force did not answer RNZ’s questions about why Whenuapai has not been given priority alongside Ohakea and Woodbourne, where foam chemicals are in at least seven properties’ drinking water.”
Read the full article by Phil Pennington.