Free testing recommended for firefighters exposed at CFA training college: report

An interim report on the CFA training college at Fiskville has been presented to the Victorian Parliament with recommendations to assess the feasibility of offering free testing to firefighters and others who may have been exposed to chemicals used in training exercises at the facility.

The report reveals the Parliamentary Inquiry has held public hearings this year to listen to the testimonies of those affected by practices at the college over several decades.

One of the subsequent recommendations includes looking at the possibility of voluntary testing for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) to career and volunteer firefighters, as well as current and former staff, other trainees and people who live or have lived on neighbouring properties.

The Herald Sun first reported on possible links between training activities and cancers in December 2011. Since then, a number of investigations, environmental audits and health studies have been conducted with the decision being made to close the training college in March this year.

Committee chair Bronwyn Halfpenny said the interim report records the work the Environment, Natural Resources and Regional Development Committee has done so far.

“A conscious decision was made to listen first to the testimony of those who had been affected by practices at the CFA training college at Fiskville,” Halfpenny said.

“These are not easy stories to tell or easy stories to hear. We have heard from people who have cared for a loved one with a debilitating and deadly disease, individuals who were exposed to deadly materials and who suffer now, and others living with the anxiety of developing a deadly disease.”

The committee was also concerned of the possible health and environmental impacts of the spread of the toxic chemicals to neighbouring properties and recommended in the report “thorough testing of soil and water, including tank water, on adjoining or relevant properties to the college to determine any immediate risks, or next steps if affected people cannot sell their livestock or produce”.

The next stage of the inquiry, across the second half of 2015, will involve hearings with government departments and agencies that were involved with the operations at Fiskville.

For more information, visit Parliament of Victoria or view the interim report here.

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