Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Some of the Leader of the House's best work there! On behalf of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, I present the committee's report No. 1 of 2024 entitled Airservices Australia—PFAS remediation of former fire training ground at Launceston Airport, Tasmania.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—On behalf of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, I present the committee's first report for 2024.

This report considers a proposal referred in November 2023 from Airservices Australia for its per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances remediation of a former fire-training ground at Launceston Airport, Tasmania. The total cost of the proposed project is $24.01 million.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known collectively—and thankfully!—as PFAS, are a group of over 4,000 human-made chemicals which have been found to be harmful to the environment and to human health. Until approximately 2010 to 2011, aviation rescue and firefighting services provided at airports such as Launceston used aqueous firefighting foam containing PFAS.

A detailed site investigation and previous studies commissioned by Airservices Australia have since identified PFAS in the soil, the sediment and the groundwater at Launceston Airport with concentrations above relevant guidelines.

This project will remediate contamination resulting from historic firefighting training operations at Launceston Airport. Reducing the PFAS levels will minimise the risks to the environment and human health.

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, which acts as the regulatory office for leased federal airports, considers the proposed works essential. Without this project, PFAS contamination will migrate from the source area to the broader airport precinct, neighbouring properties and nearby waterways. Elevated concentrations of PFAS have already been detected several kilometres from the site.

The works aim to remediate 90 per cent of the estimated PFAS mass residing in the soil and sediment on the site. The remediation will also address the environmental remediation order that was issued on 30 March 2023 by the Airport Environment Officer.

It is estimated that the project will excavate 18,000 cubic metres of soil. Modelling suggests that there are 397.6 kilograms of PFAS in the remediation area found up to a depth of five metres.

Remediation will focus on soil excavation, stabilisation, reinstatement, disposal and thermal destruction. Material with higher PFAS concentrations—more than 20 milligrams per kilogram—will be sent offsite for disposal. Groundwater PFAS levels will also be monitored pre- and post-soil remediation to determine the need for any future groundwater remediation.

The committee is aware of the health and safety risks associated with PFAS and the importance of Airservices Australia's plan to follow the PFAS environmental management plan version 2.0. In doing so it will reduce negative health impacts to individuals carrying out the remediation works.

The committee also notes that the Commonwealth and all states and territories are signatories to the Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Framework for Responding to PFAS Contamination. A key principle of this agreement is that governments will cooperate to 'deliver a more effective, proportionate and efficient response, especially where contamination crosses jurisdictional boundaries'. The committee has suggested in its report that Airservices continue to engage with key Tasmanian stakeholders throughout the remediation period and beyond, particularly state and local government, to ensure the remedial works reduce risks to the surrounding land.

The committee has also urged Airservices Australia to continue PFAS soil and water testing following the completion of the project to ensure that any further leaching onto adjacent land is remediated if required.

The committee would like to extend its thanks to all those who provided written and oral evidence in support of this inquiry. We'd like to thank personnel from Airservices Australia for their presentation to the committee.

The committee recommends that it is expedient that the proposed work be carried out.

I commend the report to the House.