“Queensland Health has reviewed blood test results from more than 60 people from the Svensson Heights area, where PFAS was found in the water supply last month.
Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said while there was expected individual variance, levels were similar to those seen across the wider community and well within acceptable ranges.
‘I’m really pleased to be able to report this good news to the community of Svensson Heights, and it is reassuring that members of the community can get on with their lives without having to worry,’ Dr Young said.
‘Most of the blood test results reviewed were from people who have lived in the Svensson Heights area for five years or more and still live there…
‘Importantly, the drinking water in Svensson Heights now meets the drinking water quality values for PFAS.’…
Separately to looking at the individual blood test results from the Svensson Heights area, Queensland Health conducted studies to establish background PFAS levels in the Bundaberg community…
From these studies, for PFOA, the average blood concentration for Bundaberg was 1.2 ng/mL and the average in the Svensson Heights area was 1.5 ng/mL. These are both less than half the Australian average of 4.5 ng/mL from the most recent national study available, which used data from 2010-11.
For PFOS the average for Bundaberg was 4.6 ng/mL and in the Svensson Heights area the average was 5.9 ng/mL. These are both well below the Australian average of 10.2 ng/mL.
For PFHxS the average for Bundaberg was 4.7 ng/mL and in Svensson Heights the average was 8.7 ng/mL. While this is higher than the Australian average of 3.3 ng/mL, these averages don’t represent individual results, which vary. Some Svensson Heights residents had levels higher than these averages, but their levels were still within acceptable ranges. PFHxS has not been proven to cause any specific illness in humans, and the public health risk is deemed to be low.”
Read the full article by Emma Reid