EPA Victoria has released an interim position statement on PFAS. The purpose of this interim position statement is to outline EPA’s current state of knowledge regarding per-and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS).
It also provides guidance on EPA’s current approach to the assessment and management of PFAS sources and how to approach potential contamination.
PFAS are a large group of manufactured chemicals that have been used in firefighting foams and other industrial and consumer products for many decades. There are over 4000 individual PFAS substances; the two most well-known are PFOS (perfluorooctane sulphonate) and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), with increasing information being generated on PFHxS (perfluorohexane sulphonate).
Victoria’s environment protection laws will change in July 2020, with the implementation of a general environmental duty (GED) requiring anyone conducting an activity that poses risks to human health and the environment to minimise those risks, so far as reasonably practicable. This interim position statement informs how EPA will expect people to act to comply with the GED.
The document is intended to be updated as new information becomes available.
The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services has also published a literature review and report on the health effects of PFAS.
