Residents of Medlow Bath, a small village in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, find themselves in a frustrating bind. Their homes sit above soil and water laced with PFAS, chemicals once used in firefighting foams that the NSW government has known about for years. They want remediation. Instead, they are getting another investigation.
The NSW government has confirmed it will launch a fresh investigation into the extent of PFAS contamination in the area. Officials estimate the process will take about 12 months, possibly extending beyond the 2027 state election. For residents watching their property values and family health concerns mount, the delay feels like another broken promise.
According to the STOP PFAS Blue Mountains group, Medlow Bath is the "epicentre of PFAS contamination in the Blue Mountains". The source of the problem is well documented. Two separate motor vehicle accidents on the Great Western Highway in 1992 and 2002 near Medlow Bath, along with the Rural Fire Brigade station, were identified as possible contamination sources, with test samples revealing chemical signatures consistent with the historical use of PFAS-containing fire-fighting foam, banned nationwide in 2007.
The contamination raises genuine questions about government accountability and the burden of cleanup. Independent testing found running water in central Medlow Bath with PFOS and PFHxS levels above 3,000 nanograms per litre, well above National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines. Because this water flows into Adams Creek and then into drinking water dams, the contamination has affected the local water supply for more than 32 years.
PFAS contamination poses a genuine dilemma for policymakers. PFAS are known as 'forever chemicals' that can persist in the environment long-term, bioaccumulate in living organisms, and are highly mobile in water and soils. In Australia, the historical use of PFAS in firefighting foams at airports and defence bases has resulted in increased chemical levels near these sites, with the chemicals working their way through soil to contaminate surface and groundwater.
The remediation challenge is real. A 2022 parliamentary inquiry described PFAS remediation as an emerging and experimental industry, noting there is a great deal of basic scientific research still required. Treatment technologies exist but they are expensive, and removing PFAS from soil is far more difficult than filtering it from water. Sydney Water installed a $3.4 million mobile PFAS treatment plant treating four megalitres of water daily at the Blue Mountains catchment in January following community pressure.
There is also a question of responsibility. Under NSW law, the entity responsible for contamination must fund assessment and remediation. In this case, responsibility is murky; the accidents were decades old and the firefighting foam suppliers no longer exist. Australia has yet to apply the "polluter pays" legal principle effectively, unlike the US, meaning the public has been footing the bill, but introducing this concept would force manufacturers to take responsibility.
For Medlow Bath residents, none of this explains why a government investigation should take 12 months. They have lived with contamination for three decades already. A 12-month delay, stretching into an election cycle, signals that cleanup and compensation are not immediate priorities for NSW policymakers. What residents want is action; what they are getting is process.
For more information on PFAS contamination management in NSW, visit the NSW EPA PFAS Investigation Program. The Australian Government PFAS Taskforce provides national guidance on PFAS management.