Sydney's water supply continues to test positive for “forever chemicals” PFAS, days after authorities warned that a city beach would be tested for the potentially cancer-causing substance.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority said on Wednesday it would test Tower Beach, in Botany Bay, on concerns about PFAS, which can accumulate in plants, animals and people.
In September, PFAS at more than one-and-a-half times safe levels in federal drinking water guidelines was detected in the NSW Blue Mountains, prompting a parliamentary inquiry into statewide contamination risks.
WaterNSW said on Friday that water testing results from monitoring of PFAS in the Greater Sydney catchment "continue to show trace levels in untreated, raw source water supplied from Blue Mountains dams".
The results excluded the region's Medlow and Greaves Creek dam which are isolated from supply due to elevated levels of PFAS, the agency said.
"Sydney Water and NSW Health have advised that Sydney’s drinking water is compliant with existing Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and is safe to drink," it added.
NSW Greens water spokesperson Cate Faehrmann urged the government to act on the results given PFAS was linked to health problems like thyroid dysfunction, dangerously high cholesterol levels and cancer.
“The government should offer blood tests and health checks to the community to determine whether there have been any impacts as a result of drinking a possibly contaminated water supply for decades," Ms Faehrmann told AAP.
"The rest of the world is way ahead when it comes to treating PFAS as the real risk to human health that it is and have lowered the levels they are willing to tolerate in drinking water. Australia is moving way too late."
Sydney Water in 2023 said it would spend $3.5 million upgrading a Blue Mountains water filtration plant with a mobile treatment system to ensure PFAS did not enter drinking water.
Experts have called for a co-ordinated, transparent and clearly communicated plan for water testing to detect the chemicals, which can enter waterways due to land-use changes such as converting industrial sites to housing.
PFAS is a group of more than 15,000 chemicals resistant to heat, stains, grease and water, earning the nickname "forever chemicals" due to their inability to break down.
NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson declined to comment.
