Trapped !

The fact that the fire fighting foam known as  PFAS was once thought to be harmless has left many families scattered across Australia in financial limbo.  When the news that poly-fluroroalkyl contaminated ground water and had the potential to cause serious injury hit newspaper headlines  the value of their properties plummeted.

The damage has now widened.  The banks are refusing loans in entire postcodes because of this perceived risk and properties affected are virtually unsaleable.  But the lenders insist that owners continue to pay mortgages owing on what are now worthless properties and in many cases valuers and other trades refuse to enter the property because of the risk.

One of the problems is that we have no idea how wide this risk is spread.  The news broke when PFAS contamination was noticed on land surrounding the RAAF base at Williamstown near Newcastle. PFAS is the prime means of fighting fires based on fuels like petrol or kerosene and it is liberally used on all military installations.  Added to these are the civilian airports in all parts of the country.

It is still being used because there is no comparable alternative in snuffing out a dangerous oil fire and PFAS is present in many household fire extinguishers.  It is commonly used by both city and country fire brigades when they encounter car fires and the runoff is flushed down the drain network. It is quite possible that this contamination may be found in city properties far removed from any airport.

These property owners are innocent victims.  Their properties are devalued because of no action on their part and they are looking for compensation.  The only people with the deep pockets to pick up the tab are the Federal and state governments, and they are hesitant to commit until the extent of the risk is known.

This could easily devolve into what is known as a " lawyers picnic ".  The litigation possibilities seem endless.  The obvious bunny in the gun sights is the manufacturer of PFAS.  When this chemical was developed it was said to be " safe to use " and it was claimed that it was " biodegradeable ".  The problem is that these chemical companies are based in other countries and suing for damages would need to be made in courts subject to the laws of foreign countries.

Pinning the blame on the actual user is far easier.  All military installations and most airports are Federal government agencies and PFAS runoff can be sourced accordingly.  That opens the question of whether such properties can be decontaminated - or whether they need to be acquired and left vacant.  The vexing question is how wide is this problem and what sort of compensation bill are we looking at ?

The one thing that is certain is that property owners affected face endless delay.  The legal aspects will be deeply probed and the science people will seek possible answers, and all that will take time. Interestingly, this PFAS problem affects all the worlds countries because PFAS is used internationally.   Once compensation starts to flow on the international scene that will be a good guide to what will happen here.