“Melbourne Airport has confirmed contamination caused by toxic chemicals, historically used in firefighting foams at the site, has spread beyond the airport boundaries.
In a statement to the ABC, airport spokesman Grant Smith said the Melbourne Airport Authority (MAA) was contacting a group of landholders to inform them of the contamination.
The MAA will also ask residents and landholders whether they use the surface water flowing through local waterways on their properties.
Mr Smith said the authority believed the health risk posed by the chemical contamination to landholders downstream of the site was low…
Melbourne Airport confirmed to the ABC it has been undertaking an extensive investigation into the presence of PFAS across the airport estate.
This included collecting more than 800 soil samples.
Based on current information available to the ABC it is unclear how far this contamination has spread. The ABC does not have any evidence that private properties have been contaminated…
Melbourne Airport said the off-site tests for PFAS were part of routine water testing and it had not done a ‘bespoke’ PFAS investigation in off-airport waterways.
It has notified several stakeholders including Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority (EPA) of the preliminary findings.
‘For the most part, contamination exists within areas leased by tenants, so we are working with each of those tenants on their plans,’ Mr Smith said.”
Read the full article by Sally Brooks and Gus Goswell