Researchers who are investigating the health and wellbeing impacts of people living in communities affected by poly-fluoroalkyl substance contamination say the level of concern about the pollutant is "immense".
Professor Martyn Kirk from the Australian National University's National Epidemical and Population Health Centre told this week's hearing of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade that the impact of PFAS on mental health was comparable to individuals exposed to asbestos and infectious disease.
"I think the community concerns have been really quite immense....It's hard for us [the investigation team] as well, but we know that communities are suffering so that's been really difficult. The thing that I think has surprised us the most is the depth of feeling and the sense of anxiety," he said.
The ANU research team has also conducted a literature reviewabout the potential health impacts from exposure to PFAS.
The review focused on 221 studies that pointed to 148 health outcomes.
"We ended up finding that the majority of studies didn't have sufficient information in them to really be able to conclude that there was evidence for a health effect. But there were several where we did find evidence of a health effect," Professor Kirk said.
"There was sufficient evidence of a positive association of PFO and PFOS for cholesterol-elevated cholesterol if there was elevated PFO or PFOS. And then there was a range of different health outcomes where there was more limited evidence-there might have been fewer studies but they still found an association."
"They included uric acid; glomerular filtration rate, which is a marker of kidney disease; chronic kidney disease; kidney cancer; and testicular cancer. And there were two which related to an association with lowered vaccine response to diphtheria and also rubella. That said, where there is limited evidence, there is certainly a need for more studies to understand whether they actually are true health effects."
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The government is yet to respond to a 2018 Senate inquiry that recommended, among other things, a compensation scheme and the possibility of buybacks for affected residents.
Queensland MP Andrew Laming, who chaired the inquiry, was removed from his position on the Joint Standing Committee.
New subcommittee chair Dr John McVeigh said the subcommittee would focus on monitoring Defence's progress under its national PFAS investigation and management program while it awaited the government's response to the report.
The subcommittee's next hearing is due to be held on December 2, 2019.
