[Peetwo]

Fire sale coming to an airport near you - contaminates for free: Guaranteed to give you 30..60..up to an amazing 300% over the acceptable limit for a contamination dosage, for free or your health back -    

C'mon DDDDarren, you've got some real spot fires erupting now mate, and it seems like it is just you holding 'one limp hose' to put it out? Where are your mates Barmybaby, Purple Haze Harfield, Wingnut and Conductor Houston???? Throwing you under the bus?

Calls for more testing to determine the extent of contamination at Gold Coast Airport
[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/c0d1ab1dd33557a5fec36ebbc57de767?esi=true&t_template=s3/chronicle-tg_tlc_storyheader/index&t_product=GoldCoastBulletin&td_noGallery=true&td_device=desktop[/img]Lea Emery, lea.emery@news.com.au, Gold Coast Bulletin
November 16, 2016 1:00am
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AIRSERVICES Australia has been slammed by community groups for not doing enough to deal with contamination at the Gold Coast Airport.

The federal body which oversees airports nationally, yesterday released the long-awaited results of testing for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soil and water at the airport.

The same chemicals caused serious health issues at Oakey where they leached into drinking water after being used at the town’s air force base.

The toxic chemical was used in firefighting foam at the Gold Coast airport between 1978 and 2003.

The Gold Coast Airport.

AirServices Australia had the firefighting training grounds, the border of the airport and the Cobaki Broadwater tested for the chemicals.

PFAS were found in very high levels at the fire-training grounds and at a level equivalent to the federal guideline for safe drinking water near the airport border. No traces were found in the Cobaki Broadwater surface water.

State Environment Minister Steven Miles said the report was far from complete.
“I am concerned that from information made available so far it appears that AirServices Australia needs to do more work to establish potential migration pathways and impacts on aquatic ecosystems, and that these deficiencies need to be acknowledged in the presentation of the results,” he said.

The same chemicals caused serious health issues at Oakey where they leached into drinking water after being used at the town’s air force base.

Tugun Cobaki Alliance spokeswoman Lindy Smith said: “The real information the community wants is lacking.”

Ms Smith said it was of concern none of the testing along Coolangatta Creek was on groundwater, meaning it was not a real picture about potential contamination in the area.

Friends of Currumbin secretary Gloria Baker said the results gave no further information when compared to testing in 2008, the results of which were released this year.

Ms Baker said many residents living just north of the airport used spear pumps and feared the contamination had moved off the airport site.

“It’s a great concern they have not even tested the spear pumps,” she said.

AirServices Australia spokesman Nick Edwards could not say if residents should be concerned.

“It wouldn’t be appropriate for our organisation to be advising people from a health perspective,” he said.

The results had been passed on to the federal and state environmental authorities and AirServices would seek their guidance.

Sure would be a crying shame for Cooly's airport to be better known for its contamination of ground water  with a toxic chemical that can't be removed, than for it to be known as being the gateway airport to the beautiful Gold Coast?

TICK TOCK Houston and Electric Blue

And also today via Gold Coast Bulletin

The revelation that the chemicals used in firefighting at the airport previously has come as a slap in the face for firefighters.

Sun Community
[/url]Advice to Gold Coast Airport construction workers to be tested for exposure to carcinogens ‘slap in face’ for fire fighters
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DENIS DOHERTY, Gold Coast Sun
October 16, 2016 1:00am
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A MOVE to advise construction workers on site at Gold Coast Airport to undertake blood testing for chemicals associated with a now disused firefighting foam has been described as a slap in the face for firefighters.

According to Gold Coast Airport chief operating officer Marion Charlton contractors working on site have been advised to take a precautionary approach to works in regards to PFAS and offering testing such as this would be in line with that approach.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) were components of Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) which was used for firefighting at the airport until 2010, and both are suspected of being carcinogenic.

A move to advise construction workers on site at Gold Coast Airport to undertake blood testing for chemicals associated with a now disused firefighting foam has been described as a slap in the face for firefighters.

The move to test workers comes despite Airservices Australia being accused by the union which represents airport firefighters of dragging its feet when it comes to testing firefighters for the chemicals.

According to United Firefighters Union Australia Aviation Branch representative Henry Lyons the group has been pressuring Airservices Australia to activate a clause that would allow extra testing of its members.

“They have so far refused,” he said.

“Our members would have been exposed just as much or more as defence force members who have been offered blood tests.

“It’s a health and safety issue and under the legislation Airservices Australia needs to take this more seriously.”

Tugun Cobaki Alliance president Lindy Smith said the move was a real slap in the face for firefighters considering they would have been in direct contact with the chemicals for a long period of time.

“These chemicals are now globally recognised as serious contaminants with serious health and environmental impacts,” she said.

Ms Smith also slammed Airservices Australia for dragging its heels on the release of a report into the contamination around the airport.

In a statement at the time the group said results would be released in August.

“Initially there were tests in June which were to be finalised in August and now we’re into October and from Airservices own statements and documents there supposedly have been ongoing investigations since 2008 and they are still not available,” Ms Smith said.

“Also NSW authorities have got two major developments at the airport with Project Lift and the ILS where you have substantial earthworks that disturb the ground and surface water authorities have not been provided with any data.

“Residents are fed up and I’ve had a number of calls particularly from residents who live adjacent to airport.

“These people have used groundwater for decades and when you look at Williamstown (Newcastle, NSW) and Oakey where warnings have been given by the Defence Department not to use groundwater and not consume produce from ground contaminated by these chemicals these people are being left in the dark and I think it’s appalling.”

Update to Gold Coast PFAS issue -  

Courtesy ABC News online:

[url=Fish and waterways near Gold Coast Airport being tested for toxic run-off]Fish and waterways near Gold Coast Airport being tested for toxic run-off
By Charmaine Kane
Updated yesterday at 4:33pmTue 24 Jan 2017, 4:33pm


Photo: Samples will be taken from Cobaki Lakes behind Gold Coast Airport. (www.goldcoastairport.com)

Seafood sampling has begun to determine how far toxic chemicals have spread from Gold Coast Airport into the surrounding environment.

The decision to begin testing today came after low levels of a once-used firefighting foam were found in soil and groundwater near the Coolangatta airport's boundary last year.
Fish and sediment samples are being collected this week from Cobaki Lakes, which is adjacent to the airport and south of the New South Wales border.

The testing was commissioned by Airservices Australia (AA), the government body that runs firefighting services at the airport.

AA said the project would examine a total of five sediment samples, five surface water samples and collection of six seafood species.

"The project is focused on examining if there is any potential historical per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination affecting local seafood species," an AA statement said.

"The aim is to better understand if there is any impact which could be attributed to the historical use of PFAS containing firefighting foam."

The chemicals have contaminated Air Force bases at Oakey in south-east Queensland and Williamtown near the New South Wales city of Newcastle.


Photo: Low levels of firefighting foam residue were found near the airport last year. (CRC CARE)

Member for Tweed Geoff Provest said he had eaten fish from the affected area and potential contamination was a concern.

"It's not a panic stage at the moment. We just need to push hard and get these results and see what is actually there," he said.

"There's some pretty pristine mud flats, mangroves, swamps. It is a fish breeding ground for a lot of the Tweed River and it is quite popular with fishermen.

"There are some pretty good mud crabs and different species that can be obtained in that area … sea mullet, sand mullets, mud crabs and also the Sydney rock oyster."

Consulting firm GHD is overseeing the testing, along with the NSW environment department, with results expected in March.

From other news sites:

• Tweed Daily News: Airservices to test for contamination in Cobaki
  

TICK..TOCK DDD_MNFI Chester the PFAS PED clock is counting down:

miniscule 4D (M&M prepared) AAA speech; & the PFAS ticking PED -  

(PED definition: Politicised Explosive Device)

MTF...P2