Yass Water Supply – Testing for PFAS/PFOS
PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) are a family of chemicals that have been used widely in industrial and consumer products since the 1950s. They are persistent in the environment and sometimes referred to as ‘forever chemicals’. Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) specifies limits for perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and perfluorohexane sulphonate (PFHxS), and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Additional information can be found here.
Council conducted monitoring of PFAS for the Yass Water Supply in late July 2024 with the support of NSW Health. Drinking water samples supplied from the Yass Water Supply System were analysed at the Sydney Water Laboratory Services.
All parameters were below detection limit, meaning no detection was made for any PFAS substances. Results are summarised below.
Yass WTP Treated Drinking Water
|
Date of Sample
|
Location
|
Parameter
|
ADWG Guideline Value, ug/L
|
Value, ug/L
|
Remarks
|
|
23 July 2024
|
Yass WTP drinking water
|
PFOS + PFHxS
|
0.07
|
< 0.0001
|
Not detected
|
|
PFOA
|
0.56
|
< 0.0001
|
Not detected
|
Council will continue to work with NSW Health on monitoring for PFAS in the drinking water supply system and will report the results to the community.