Oakey AACO Groundwater Investigation Community Information Session

1. Community Information SessionArmy Aviation Centre Oakey (AACO)Groundwater Investigation Tuesday 2 December 2014

2. Community Information Session Background • Fire fighting training activities have occurred at the Army Aviation Centre Oakey (AACO) since the late 1970s • Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) is used in these training activities • AFFF has historically contained perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) • Defence proactively assesses groundwater on many of its bases, including Oakey Image: Example of AFFF in use

3. Community Information Session Background • PFCs: • Are man made chemicals which have been used in common household and industrial products (e.g. cleaning products, textiles and paper and packaging products) for many years • Are persistent in the environment and are present at trace concentrations throughout the environment • There are many types of PFC • PFCs (Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)) were identified in groundwater at Oakey during proactive groundwater assessments • Foams which are known to contain PFOS and PFOA are no longer used by Defence Image: PFCs are found in Scotchgard, Teflon and Gore-Tex clothing

4. Community Information Session Background • The AACO Groundwater Investigation: • is a long-term environmental investigation and assessment • is focusing on understanding PFOS and PFOA concentrations in the environment • may take several years to complete, but information is being progressively shared with the community • Investigation results will inform the options for management strategies and remediation approaches, if required

5. Community Information Session The Investigation to date Community information session • 2010: PFCs detected in groundwater on-base • 2011 – 2013: further testing on-base • Results indicated the impact may have travelled beyond the AACO • Late 2013: targeted sampling outside the base, to the immediate west and south-west • 2014: further groundwater sampling in the wider Oakey area • Three community information sessions (Dec 2012, Dec 2013 and July 2014) Water use survey Targeted bore water sampling Targeted tank & pool sampling Assisted residents with alternate water access Commenced hydrogeological & site history studies

6. Community Information Session Selecting bores for sampling • Bores are selected for sampling based on technical requirements and community requests • Technical considerations: • searches of registered bores • depth • location • groundwater flow direction

7. Community Information Session Community bore test requests • assessed on a case-by-case basis • not all water bores within the investigation area need to be tested to assess the extent of the groundwater contamination • assessment process considers how bore water is used at the property • priority given to residents using bore water as a source of drinking water

8. Community Information Session Sampling Activities *Provisional Health Advisory (PHA) values developed in 2009 by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) represent a concentration above which action should be taken to reduce exposure to PFOS and PFOA in drinking water. The PHA value for PFOS is 0.2 µg/L. The PHA value for PFOA is 0.4 µg/L

9. Community Information Session Results Investigation and Detection areas (note: lines are indicative only) • The ‘detection area’ (indicated in shades of blue) shows the current understanding of the area in which concentrations of PFOS have been reported in the groundwater • The ‘investigation area’ (indicated by the black dotted line) is the broader area beyond the detection area, which is being studied as part of assessing the extent of the contaminated groundwater

10. Community Information Session Drinking water assistance Town water assistance (x5) • As a precaution, Defence recommends not drinking groundwater from within the investigation area until further notice (including re-filling rainwater tanks that supply drinking water) • Some residents in the detection area have relied on bore water for household use, and have requested Defence’s assistance accessing an alternate water supply to bore water • All requests are assessed on a case-by-case basis Tank water assistance (x6) Bottled water assistance (x1)(no rainwater tank or town water connection available)

11. Community Information Session December 2013 – October 2014: • 155 enquiries received via the project hotline and email, comprises 112 incoming calls and 43 incoming emails. • The majority of these enquiries have been received from mid-July 2014, onwards. • The top ten issues raised by stakeholders (in incoming calls and emails) table.

12. Community Information Session Next steps Ongoing community consultation - Detailed hydrogeological review - Desktop ecological study - Data gaps analysis - Additional preliminary human health risk assessment - Preliminary ecological risk assessment - Preliminary screening of management options 2014 2015 - Sampling groundwater, soil and sediment to support more detailed risk assessments - Update and refine risk assessments - Hydrogeological modelling Assess options for management or remedial action

13. Community Information Session Questions? Contact us Defence want to keep you informed: • Phone: 1800 136 129 free call (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm) • Website: www.defence.gov.au/id/oakey