BALRANALD SHIRE COUNCIL PFAS TEST RESULTS
What is PFAS
Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals used in various industrial and consumer products for their resistance to heat, stains, grease and water. PFAS are termed forever chemicals due to their persistence in the environment and slow breakdown.
Australian Standards and Guidelines
The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHRMC), provide standards for safe drinking water. Current guidelines ensure water safety, with new and stricter PFAS limits currently under consideration.
Water authorities like Balranald Shire Council rigorously assesses and treats drinking water supplies to maintain compliance with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. Most water supplies in NSW comply with existing guidelines and regional water supplies have shown no concerning PFAS levels. More information can be obtained from the NSW Government’s PFAS webpage
Balranald Shire Council PFAS Analysis
Balranald Shire Council in conjunction with NSW Health has undertaken initial PFAS analysis of the Balranald and Euston town water supplies. The results are presented in the table below and indicate that the while there are detections of PFAS chemicals in our water supplies, the levels of these chemicals are at very low levels and well under the current and proposed Australian Drinking Water Guidelines for safe drinking water.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) Analysis Summary
| Characteristic | Current ADWG value* | Proposed ADWG value* | Result Balranald | Result Euston | Meeting current ADWG value (%) |
| Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) | 0.560 µg/L 560 ng/L | 0.2 µg/L 200 ng/L | 0.0005 µg/L 0.5 ng/L | 0.0005 µg/L 0.5 ng/L | 100% |
| Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) | Sum of PFOS and PFHxS 0.07 µg/L 70 ng/L | 0.004 µg/L 4 ng/L | <0.0005 µg/L <0.5 ng/L | <0.0005 µg/L <0.5 ng/L | 100% |
| Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) | 0.03 µg/L 30 ng/L | 0.0013 µg/L 1.3 ng/L | 0.0008 µg/L 0.8 ng/L | 100% | |
| Perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) | No current guideline value | 1 µg/L 1000 ng/L | 0.0013 µg/L 1.3 ng/L | 0.0008 µg/L 0.8 ng/L | 100% |
*Units: microgram per litre (µg/L), nanogram per litre (ng/L)
Balranald Shire Council in conjunction with NSW Health, will continue to monitor our drinking water supplies to ensure that we are providing safe drinking water to our communities.
