[Peetwo]

The 450 airport Elephants -

Slight drift here but still very much relevant to poor old Bankstown Airport's woes...

From the other Aunty a story that should be of concern for not only Minister for Defence Marise Payne but also the dopey, inept, bureaucratic footstool DPM Truss:

NSW Government to extend fishing ban by eight months due to toxic leaks from air force base

ABC Rural
By Lucy Barbour

Updated 27 Oct 2015, 2:56pmTue 27 Oct 2015, 2:56pm

Photo: Fishing has been banned in Fullerton Cove due to a toxic chemical leak. (1233 ABC Newcastle: Robert Virtue)

         
Audio: A ban at two fisheries near Newcastle is crippling local fishing businesses (ABC Rural)

The NSW Government has extended a ban on two fishing areas, currently closed due to a toxic chemical leak from the Williamtown air force base, for a further eight months.
News of the extensions at Tilligerry Creek and Fullerton Cove will rock local fishing families, some of whom haven't had an income for the past two months due to the bans.
Some species of fish have been found to contain concerning levels of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate, or PSOS, the chemical found in firefighting foams formerly used at the Williamtown base.

NSW Chief Scientist Mary O'Kane, who chairs the expert panel that recommended the extension, said there was urgent need for further testing.

"The Panel has discussed at length the urgent need for a comprehensive human health risk assessment, and the extensive sampling and testing of not just fish but also of water, meat, fruit and vegetables, dairy, eggs, honey and other produce that would be required," she said.

"Extensive testing is needed to determine the exposure risk posed by individual food groups, as well as calculate the cumulative risk to someone who consumes several types of food on a daily basis.

"That process will take some time to complete due to the large volume of samples and limited laboratory capacity.

"And, therefore, we've resolved to recommend the ban on commercial and recreational fishing be extended for an additional eight months."

Residents who live inside the affected area have been told to continue to not drink bore water, or eat any produce from animals that have been drinking water from bores.
The panel has also recommended that locals avoid eating fish, prawns and wild oysters caught at Tilligerry Creek or Fullerton Cove.

Disturbing tale for the environmental impact in the waterways around Williamtown Airport, coupled with the woes of the local fishermen..

However there is a much bigger picture here which is encompassed in the next part of the ABC article with a profound statement from the local Federal MP (in bold):

Calls for urgent Government support



The Federal Member for Paterson, Bob Baldwin, wants the Federal Government to provide urgent support.

"What we need to do is put into place emergency funding procedures like in any natural disaster so that people can actually put food on the table," he said.

The Assistant Minister for Defence, Darren Chester, told the ABC the Government was considering a range of possible options.

"Our highest priority is to work with the relevant state government agencies and work within the Department to address any public health concerns," Mr Chester said.

"To look at any environmental issues if and when they arise and to explore possible financial assistance for those residents in the affected area who may be doing it tough as a result of the decision by the (State) Government to ban certain activities like commercial fishing."

The chemicals PFOA and PFOS were contained in firefighting foams once used at Defence Force bases, and have been detected in groundwater at Williamtown in NSW and Oakey, in regional Queensland.

Laboratory studies have shown the chemicals can cause cancer in rats and locals in those regions have been told not to drink bore water and to avoid eating seafood caught in the area, but health experts say the human impact is minimal.

Some locals claim their property prices have fallen, and there's talk of a class action against the Federal Government.

Darren Chester said the issue of who's responsible for providing financial assistance is "very real" but he said it's "premature" to be talking about legal action.

The ABC understands that some tests on areas surrounding more than 10 other air force bases are likely to come back positive. Those tested include Darwin, Amberley, Richmond, East Sale, Pearce, Townsville and Tindal.

Bob Baldwin said it was inevitable that groundwater at rural fire service sites and airports would also be contaminated, meaning the contamination could exist right across the country.

"We've only got to look in Sydney, at Mascot Airport, their fire-fighting facilities where they've used the foam over the years, and every military base where they've used this foam," Mr Baldwin said.

  
Okay now rewinding back to page 2 reference - post #18:

...For those interested here is a link for the environmental section of the BK MP that our dozy miniscule apparently signed off on - 4. FINAL BANKSTOWN AES Section 4 Environmental Management Issues


Besides the MSM - seemingly with their heads in the sand on this issue - I've got to ask why the hell Senator Milne & the Greens aren't all over this?? 
Maybe this will grab their attention?? Not sure if it is true or not.. ..but I heard a rumour that AirServices Australia are sitting on a ticking time bomb, which has the potential to effect not only the Sydney basin water table but any of a number of areas in Australia with an airport facility that is big enough to justify having an ASA firefighting service. 

The following is a quote from this article - Innovation converts ordinary clay into chemical trap:

Professor Naidu says there is a large global market for his product.

“Australia has 450 civilian and military airports, and nearly all of these have used firefighting foams in training or in real emergencies and are therefore contaminated sites. We are currently working with Airservices Australia to determine the feasibility of treating contaminated wastewater at airports.”

Environmental PFCs have been shown to accumulate in animal and human tissue, and are linked to bladder and liver cancer, endocrine disruption, and developmental and reproductive toxicity.

Stuart Khan, Associate Professor at the UNSW School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, says the dangerous PFCs will linger even after the 'film-forming' foams is phased out. 

“Although application of these products to fight fires is now being phased out, there is still stock around that can be used, and broad prior use has a long impact due to the very slow breakdown rate of PFCs, and accumulation in living tissues,” he said.

Storm in a teacup or monumental environmental disaster, we shall see but already we have a government MP drawing a conclusion that there were many more potential Williamtown time bombs tick..tick..ticking away.

Hmm..that could put a dampener on Murky Mandarin and his dodgy deals with property developers??  


MTF..P2