Read the full article (Australian Associated Press)
“Chemical contamination concerns have sparked new limits that could end the mass disposal of human waste on farms that feed the nation.
The federal government has released a new draft plan to manage environmental and human health risks from a vast family of toxic chemicals called PFAS.
They’re sometimes referred to as forever chemicals because they don’t easily break down and can build up in plants, animals and humans.
Of the relatively few well-studied PFAS, most are considered moderately to highly toxic.
Many governments worldwide now warn certain exposure levels may lead to increased cancer and other health risks from substances used since the 1940s.
Australia says most people are likely to have very low, safe levels of PFAS in their bodies because the chemicals are found in food, water and countless products including food packaging, cosmetics and clothing.
Because PFAS are in human bodies, they are also in human waste and the wastewater generated by households and industry.
For years, that waste stream has been collected at sewage treatment plants and reused as fertiliser on Australian farms – a product called biosolids.
Geoff Latimer is the author of the Hazardous Waste in Australia report prepared for the government every two years, and has long warned of potential risks from spreading PFAS-contaminated biosolids on land used to produce food.” …