Perth Airport sues Airservices Australia

Perth Airport is taking government-owned corporation Airservices Australia to federal court over alleged chemical contamination ongoing since 1995.

According to documents obtained by Business News, Perth Airport launched a legal action against Airservices Australia, claiming it was responsible for the clean-up of the contamination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS.

Airservices Australia operated Aviation Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) services, a service which used fire suppressants containing aqueous film forming foam, at Perth Airport since July 1995.

Perth Airport claimed Airservices Australia's products, including the foam, contained PFAS.

According to the statement of claim, Airservices Australia started using a new product at the airport, believed to be PFAS-free, from 2010.

Airservices Australia did a preliminary investigation on the historic use of the aqueous film forming foam in 2018 and found PFAS was detected in soil, surface water and groundwater at Perth Airport.

Perth Airport alleged Airservices Australia had and continued to cause damage to Terminal 1 and 2, Dunreath Drive area, training grounds and other areas on which it carried out its ARFF services.

According to the statement of claim, Airservices Australia also failed to provide a compliant environmental management plan.

Perth Airport alleged there were delays to the development of the airport due to the PFAS contamination, causing loss of profits and rental return.

It claims any works to remedy the PFAS contamination was done at the airport’s own cost.

Perth Airport wants the court to force the clean-up of contamination on its estate upon Airservices Australia.

An Airservices spokesperson said it was reviewing the federal court claims lodged by Perth Airport.

"Aviation and rescue fire fighting services have operated at Perth Airport since the 1950s, and historically, fire fighting foams containing PFAS were used in line with international standards at the time," the spokesperson said.

"Airservices Australia was established in 1995 and has used PFAS-free fire fighting foams since 2010.

"We are committed to managing PFAS which resulted from Airservices’ historic aviation rescue and fire fighting practices to ensure the safety of workers, the environment and the communities in which we operate.

"We are taking action through our National PFAS Management Program, which includes site investigations, monitoring, management actions and remediation works.

"At Perth Airport, we have completed a Preliminary Site Investigation (PSI). A Detailed Site Investigation is currently underway and is due to be completed in mid-2023.

"In addition, we have already taken action to remove the old fire station and associated materials and soil to address PFAS at this site."

A statement from Perth Airport said it had sought action from Airservices Australia to remediate or remove the contamination for a number of years.

“In doing so, Perth Airport has engaged openly and transparently with both Commonwealth and State regulators in the development of a PFAS Management Plan for the airport estate,” the statement said.

“Perth Airport has also funded a whole-of-estate PFAS detailed site investigation along with a number of PFAS remediation projects including the installation of treatment plants in airport drains to ensure that PFAS levels in water leaving the airport estate are within recommended PFAS tolerances.

“Perth Airport remains hopeful that Airservices Australia will commit to a fully-funded priority program to remove or remediate the contamination.”

However, the statement said there was limited evidence exposure to PFAS caused adverse human health effects, according to the current Commonwealth health advice.