PFAS Compounds, Soil Contaminations and Current Concerns in Australia

This article discusses the causes, effects and management of soil pollution in Australia, with a focus on PFAS compounds. It explains what PFAS compounds are, how they contaminate soil, and the current concerns surrounding them. The article also covers other common soil pollutants in Australia, such as heavy metals, and the measures being taken to manage contaminated soil. Case studies and research are used to support the discussion.

Running head: PFAS COMPOUNDS SOIL CONTAMINATIONS AND CURRENT
CONCERNS IN AUSTRALIA
A Study on PFAS Compounds, Soil Contaminations and Current Concerns in Australia
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PFAS COMPOUNDS, SOIL CONTAMINATIONS AND CURRENT CONCERNS IN
AUSTRALIA
Introduction
The article seeks to explain the PFAS compounds, soil contaminations as well as the
current concerns on the pollutants in Australia. Pollution is the introduction of hazardous
materials to the environment and as per the paper; soil pollution is the exposure of harmful
substances to the natural soil. Hazardous materials are those waste products which pose a threat
to the environments. Soil pollution is involved with a lot of many pollutants which make it lose
its natural elements. The problem of contamination has become widespread in Australia, and
exceptional measures and concerns have taken place to combat it. The paper does an intensive
review of the PFAS compounds as well as soil contamination causes and the steps taken to fight
it. Extensive research on journals as well as examples and case studies mark the discussions of
the article.
Discussion
Per-and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances, (PFAS Compounds)
They are human-made chemicals used in industrial matters since the 1950s. Many
industries use them for the manufacture of industrial and consumer products. They are found in
soil, air or water after the emission of waste products from the trades. They're historically used in
manufacturing non-stick cookware, used in packaging of foods, stain protection, and in some
instances in making foams for firefighting. The most dominant types of PFAS are the two sister
compound namely; PFOS and PFOA (World Food Regulation Review, 2017) .These elements
contain the carbon and fluorine Atom Backbones. All these industrial and consumer uses of
PFAS lead to the contamination of underground water and the entire environment (Trainor et al,

PFAS COMPOUNDS, SOIL CONTAMINATIONS AND CURRENT CONCERNS IN
AUSTRALIA
2017). They constitute a significant soil pollutant. PFOS and PFOA are both biologically and
chemically stable as well as resistant to the typical process of environmental degradation. Those
processes include hydrolysis, direct photolysis and atmospheric photo-oxidation (US EPA,
2013).
The Case of PFAS Compounds investigation in Launceston Airport in 2016
PFAS compounds were traced and detected in the regions near to Launceston Airport in
the year 2016. Researchers and scientists' research found that the compounds were present as a
result of firefighting forms historically used during firefighting practices that were facilitated by
a training facility in the airport. The firefighting foams contained the elements of perfluorinated
compounds (Lloyd & Senjen, 2016).
The air services investigations used samples from soil, underground water, and surfaces
water from locations adjoining the airport near the firefighting training area. The results of the
findings were low concentrations of PFASs contained in the samples. Its either indicated that the
research done was not to the maximum and recommendations for further investigations made.
The intention of the study was to understand the extent of the risk that resulted from the
contamination(Lloyd & Senjen, 2016).
Many instances of soil contamination with PFASs in Australia originate from firefighting
foams. The Tasmanian Fire Service Training Center situated at Cambridge is believed to have
the highest probability and capacity of PFASs contamination. The government of Australia hasn't
fully established the extent of the effects of this pollutant on the people (Lloyd & Senjen, 2016).
In the journal of hazardous materials, a study on the PFASs in landfills leachates conducted by
researchers. The sampling of leachate in a total of 27 Australian discharges got taken for the

PFAS COMPOUNDS, SOIL CONTAMINATIONS AND CURRENT CONCERNS IN
AUSTRALIA
investigation. The study found that the PFASs compounds present in all the landfills despite their
ages as well as waste types. The study found that PFHxA had the highest concentration followed
by the other four kinds of PFASs. The concentrations of the compounds increased with a
decrease in the age of landfill significantly with the rising levels associated with increasing pH as
well as TOC (Gallen et al., 2017).
Soil Contamination
Soil contamination also is known as soil pollution is the presence of toxic chemicals and
substances in the soil in high concentrations that may lead to risks to both living things and the
ecosystem. Even low levels of soil contaminations are hazardous. Contaminated soil is the static
soil that has been exposed to dangerous substances and has stayed for some time with the
contaminating components.
Naturally, soils contain contaminants such as metals, organic compounds, as well as
inorganic compounds and salts. They are present even when the ground is not contaminated, and
formed through decomposition of microorganisms (both plants and animals) and microbial
activity. Soil contaminants include, lead (Pb) from sources such as mining, foundry, exhaust
from vehicles, and agriculture (Su, 2014).
Secondly, mercury brought about by medical waste, mining, metal processing as well as
coal incineration activities. Arsenic (As) also from mining, lumber firms, electronic firms,
agricultural businesses, as well as natural accumulation. Lastly, copper is also a renowned
pollutant that originates from mining, construction and factory activities.
Heavy metals are the leading pollutants of urban soils as per the current knowledge in
Australian urban centers. The community in the country has complained allot and led to the

PFAS COMPOUNDS, SOIL CONTAMINATIONS AND CURRENT CONCERNS IN
AUSTRALIA
investigation as well as rehabilitation of contaminated soils (He et al., 2015). Anthropogenic
sources are the foremost leaders in soil pollution.
An excellent example of soil pollution in Australia is present on the roadsides along the
roads in Melbourne have high percentages of heavy metal pollution mainly caused by vehicle
exhausts and emissions. High concentrations of these heavy metals lead to long-term damage to
the environment.
De Silva et al, (2016), in their research "Metal accumulation in roadside soil in
Melbourne, Australia: Effect of road age, traffic density, and vehicular speed", (p.1), which did
an assessment of the relation of traffic features such as traffic jams, speed of vehicles and the age
of roads against the heavy metal presence in roadsides got significant findings. High levels of
contaminants resulted from the study. Recently introduced metals in the technologies of the
automotive industry in the last 25 years got recorded as the high pollutants in the medium and
newly constructed roads. Such metals include Mn, Pd, and Sb. In oldest streets, minerals that
have a prolonged use in the industry of automotive, such as Cr, Pb, and Zn recorded the high
percentage of pollutants.
Stable waste generation is the most significant effect of increased production as well as
production in Australia. In the country, solid wastes never re-used, and they majorly end up in
managed landfills. The total number of landfills in Australia is approximately1168 in number,
and they accommodate around 20 million tones of waste produced each year. The National
Wastes Policy in Australia is very strategic on the reduction of waste disposal which consists of
hazardous products. All these goals are aimed at meeting the national plan of reducing pollution

PFAS COMPOUNDS, SOIL CONTAMINATIONS AND CURRENT CONCERNS IN
AUSTRALIA
effects on the environment (University of Western Australia Reports Findings in Environmental
Research ,2018).
Management of Contaminated Soils in Australia
The National Environment Protection (NEP) led to the Assessment of Site Contamination
measure since the year 1999. It has several provisions on how soil contaminations should be
handled. The first is an onsite treatment of the soil with the aim of destroying the contaminant or
reducing the hazard to an acceptable optimum level. Secondly, offsite therapy of land excavated
from a particular location, this depends on the levels of contamination. Once the treatment gets
done, the soil is either returned to the site or if the treatment isn't successful; the soil gets used to
fill the landfill (Rate, 2018).
Australia has championed the use of online tracking of contaminated areas where any
traces of soil contamination and majorly from PFASs get reported to the relevant authorities.
According to studies done in Australia it has been proven that PFAS are harmful to certain
species of organisms and that it should be used in situations where there is no any alternative.
Soils contaminated with PFAS can be treated to destroy the compounds, and in Australia,
companies to work on this issue have their operations started (Trier et al., 2018)
The trending technology currently is proposed by the OPEC systems, which is working
hand in hand with the Department of Defense to remove chemicals of PFAS compounds from
water. According to the company, its technology can remove up to 99% of the PFASs in a
minute.
The current concerns on the Management of PFAS are undergoing in Australia with the
PFAs National Environmental Management Plan taking its due course. The plan aims to provide

PFAS COMPOUNDS, SOIL CONTAMINATIONS AND CURRENT CONCERNS IN
AUSTRALIA
the government with a risk-based, consistent and practical framework to help in the regulation of
PFAS sites and materials. The plans outline further work to be completed by the end of the year
2018. It is structured to accommodate the emerging knowledge and research (Trainor, 2017).
Conclusion
PFASs compounds are a significant cause of soil contamination in Australia historically.
Milestones of studies have been reached currently to curb the menace. In the country, a more
substantial percentage of soil pollution majorly in North South Wales, have originated from the
PFASs components. The government of Australia has come up with possible solutions. Firms
with the technologies for cleaning the compounds have emerged and commenced the work of
cleaning the compounds though it is significantly expensive.

PFAS COMPOUNDS, SOIL CONTAMINATIONS AND CURRENT CONCERNS IN
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References
Australian Guidance Values for Assessing Exposure to Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and
Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA). (2017). World Food Regulation Review,26(11), 3-4
De Silva, S., Ball, A. S., Huynh, T., & Reichman, S. M. (2016). Metal accumulation in roadside
soil in Melbourne, Australia: Effect of road age, traffic density and vehicular
speed. Environmental Pollution, 208, 102-109.
Gallen, C., Drage, D., Eaglesham, G., Grant, S., Bowman, M., & Mueller, J. (2017). Australia-
wide assessment of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in landfill leachates. Journal of
Hazardous Materials, 331, 132-141.
He, Z., Shentu, J., Yang, X., Baligar, V. C., Zhang, T., & Stoffella, P. J. (2015). Heavy metal
contamination of soils: sources, indicators and assessment.
Lloyd, M., & Senjen, S. D. R. (2016). The Persistence and Toxicity of Perfluorinated
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University of Technology, Sydney.
Rate, A. (2018). Multielement geochemistry identifies the spatial pattern of soil and sediment
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PFAS COMPOUNDS, SOIL CONTAMINATIONS AND CURRENT CONCERNS IN
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