Huge change to Australian drinking water rules amid alarm over chemicals that cause CANCER

National drinking water guidelines for potential carcinogenic chemicals will be tightened following increasing discoveries of PFAS in water sources.

Draft benchmarks based on emerging scientific research into the health risks were released on Monday and immediately welcomed by Australian experts and the water industry.

But the National Health and Medical Research Council has been forced to defend its self-styled “very conservative” proposed guidelines against going as low as the near-zero level set in the US.

PFAS substances are a group of more than 15,000 chemicals that are resistant to heat, stains, grease and water and are nicknamed “forever chemicals” because of their inability to break down.

Their use varies widely, from fire-fighting foam to non-stick pots and pans.

Recent discoveries of large quantities of the chemicals in some water supplies in NSW have led to dam closures and community concerns, especially in the Blue Mountains.

Water quality expert Stuart Khan said Australians can continue to be confident that national guidelines contain the latest and most robust science to support drinking water safety.

But he warned that upgrades to treatment plants to meet the lower standards will come at the expense of consumers.

“In some cases, advanced water treatment processes may be required and the costs of these advances will necessarily be passed on to customers’ bills,” said the head of the University of Sydney’s School of Civil Engineering.

‘The increase in drinking water costs will hit smaller regional communities the hardest.’

Water Services Association of Australia chief executive Adam Lovell said the industry supported the rigorous scientific process used to establish the guidelines.

“For most of us, drinking water comes from well-protected, often pristine watersheds, or it undergoes multiple barrier treatment processes,” he said.

If adopted, the guidelines would lower the benchmark for the PFOA group of chemicals from 560 to 200 nanograms per liter, based on carcinogenic effects.

One nanogram is approximately one drop in twenty Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Water quality expert Stuart Khan warned that the new guidelines would come at a financial cost

The PFOS guidelines would drop from 70 to four nanograms per liter based on effects on the bone marrow, while new guidelines were established for the PFHxS and PFBS groups due to thyroid problems.

Each level is based on lifetime exposure risks, the research council said.

“It’s not about the concentration that is toxic at this point, but you have to drink above these levels all your life to get what we currently consider toxic effects,” council CEO Steve Wesselingh said.

The new guidelines were based on animal studies after the council’s water quality advisory committee deemed there were insufficient high-quality human studies available.

Placing more weight on these human studies and legal differences, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency adopted near-zero standards in April, said advisory committee member David Cunliffe.

“Our guidelines are very conservative,” he said.

‘We always err on the side of caution.’

The standards should not be seen as a ‘pass-fail’ measure, but as a trigger for water boards to investigate potential sources of pollution.

They are likely to be finalized in April, after public consultation begins on Monday.