The Northern Territory Government has been "extremely slack" in terms of advising Katherine's medical staff about the health risks posed by the PFAS chemical contamination of the town's water supply, a local doctor has said.
Residents in the Top End town are deciding whether to sue the Defence Department over the contamination from firefighting foam historically used at the nearby Tindal RAAF base, which has forced the entire town to face water restrictions, believed to be an Australian first.
Dr PJ Spafford, who has worked in Katherine for 15 years, said the closure of the pool had sparked more questions from residents concerned about environmental exposure to the potentially toxic chemicals.
"[Patients are asking], 'am I exposed to it through mowing my grass? Am I exposed to it through the swimming pool? Am I exposed to it through the dust that gets thrown up from the ground?'" he said.
"Unfortunately, the Government hasn't provided us as the GPs with any information on what to pass on to patients, which is a bit of an oversight."
He said he had expected official advice about the situation for doctors to come from the Chief Health Officer or the Health Minister.
"I have had no official representation from them to come and visit, to educate, even a letter from them to say this is the research that you should be reading to give the population the best advice possible.
"The Territory Government, as far as I'm concerned, has been extremely slack in this regard."
Calls for blood testing in Katherine
Up-to-date information about the situation was available on the Northern Territory Government's websites and had been provided at public forums in Katherine, said the NT's Chief Health Officer, Dr Hugh Heggie.
He said he had also provided information in a number of media interviews, but would direct doctors to the fact sheets available on the Government's website.
Northern Territory Health Minister Natasha Fyles said in a statement that PFAS was a complex legacy issue that the Federal Government is taking the lead on.
She said that guidance values and information sheets were available on the Federal Government website.
"I have heard the concerns from a Katherine GP and have asked the department to review how information is being made available and see what improvements can be made in this space," she said.
"I would encourage any GPs who feel they need more information to contact the Department of Health's Chief Health Officer."
An information pamphlet published by the NT's Environment Protection Agency last month said an assessment of risks to human health in the Katherine area was underway.
It said the assessment would inform advice provided by government agencies about the consumption of home-grown produce and the viability of voluntary blood testing.
An ecological health assessment is also underway, and both are due to be completed by April next year.
The advice said that routine showering or bathing will not likely cause a significant exposure to PFAS, and that although pregnant women should "minimise their exposure to PFAS", mothers living in or around contaminated sites are recommended to continue breastfeeding.
Dr Spafford said the same research being conducted at other contaminated sites across Australia should also be done in Katherine, including blood tests, which governments have so far not offered to residents living in affected areas in the NT.
"We need to be a part of that research, we must be a part of that research," he said.
"And we shouldn't be denied that opportunity to show whether there is or isn't a safe level here."
Dr Heggie said the NT Government had written to the Federal Government "several times" asking that Katherine residents receive the same support provided to affected communities in other states.
But he said he would not recommend a blood test to a patient of his own.
"There is no value actually having a blood test, except to show that we have been exposed to this chemical," he said.
"We are exposed to it in food packaging and other chemicals in the environment — all of us have got this in our blood.
"If [patients] wanted to have the blood test it would show what their individual level is, it won't show where it came from and it won't predict any harm."
