PFAS chemicals: Stonewalling bureaucracies cannot turn customary blind eye to new research

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Stonewalling bureaucracies cannot turn customary blind eye to new PFAS research

The Herald's View October 29, 2025 — 5.00am

Health and defence authorities have long resolutely rejected the link between PFAS contamination and a cancer cluster at Williamtown RAAF airbase. But now, University of Newcastle research has found levels of the so-called “forever chemicals” in the contamination zone considered enough to significantly alter male reproductive health in animals.

Researchers exposed male mice to PAS-contaminated water at the same concentration found in a well at Williamtown and the university said the findings echoed human studies showing lower sperm counts in men with high PFAS exposure. The researchers suggest that paternal