World-first soil washing trial to tackle RAAF base contamination
A world-first trial is underway at the Edinburgh RAAF base to rid the area of PFAS contamination as a new treatment plan is installed to try to clean the groundwater.
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A world-first soil washing trial is underway at the Edinburgh RAAF base in a bid to rid the facility of potentially dangerous toxins.
The Defence Department has also installed a water treatment plant at the site to clean contaminated groundwater.
The move comes in response to the findings of a three-year investigation into perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) contamination at the northern suburbs defence base and on nearby council-owned and private properties.
The inquiry identified 27 potential contamination source areas and of those, 12 on-base areas represented “a significant source of … contamination, where environmental sample results exceeded the adopted human health and/or ecological guidance values”.
Samples taken from private properties showed the level of toxins was below human health guidance values.
PFOS and PFAS are part of the Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) group of chemicals which not break down in the environment and have been linked to cancer in people and animals.
The toxins were used in firefighting foams at the Edinburgh RAAF base from the 1970s until 2004.
The department has this week released a series of fact sheets to update the community on its investigation.
The documents show Ventia Utility Services has been engaged to carry out a soil washing trial at the base.
“The trial involves the treatment of 2500 tonnes of soil from the Fire Training Area, an area with known elevated levels of PFAS,” it read.
“The treatment involves excavation of the soil followed by a screening and washing process which removes the PFAS.
“PFAS extracted through the process will be transported off-site for destruction at a licensed facility.”
The treated soil will then be returned to its original location.
The department said the trial, which began last month and was a “world first on this scale,” was expected to be completed in late 2019.
Meanwhile, the department has hired Enviropacific Services to install and operate an on-base water treatment plant to remove PFAS from groundwater under the fire training area.
The plant began treating groundwater at the site this month.
The department will continue to take and test samples of groundwater at 58 locations at the base and 42 locations off the base every six months for three years.
It will also test surface water from 10 spots on the base and 10 off the base at the same frequency and for the same amount of time.
A review will then be carried out.
