My special guest today is Environmental Lawyer Claire Smith from Clayton UTZ in Sydney, Australia to discuss and explain the NSW EPA PFAS Firefighting Ban,

Below is a portion of her written commentary on 18 March, 2021.

"The Environmental Operations (General) Amendment (PFAS Firefighting Foam) Regulation 2021 has been introduced and will impose a ban on the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam in NSW, subject to some exceptions.

On 1 March 2021, The NSW Government Introduced the Environmental Operations (General) Amendment (PFAS Firefighting Foam) Regulation 2021. The Regulation will amend the Protection of the Environment Operations (General) Regulation 2009 and impose a ban on the use of per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

NSW is the third jurisdiction in Australia to regulate PFAS use, and the second jurisdiction to introduce a ban, after Queensland began regulating PFAS-containing firefighting foams in 2016 and South Australia introduced a similar ban in 2018.

The Ban on the use of PFAS firefighting foam for the purposes of training and demonstrations came into effect on 1 April, 2021 with other restrictions operating from 26 September, 2022 onwards.

The Regulation will make it a criminal offence to:

Use PFAS firefighting foam for the purposes of firefighting training or demonstrations
Use PFAS except to extinguish a "catastrophic" fire, or fire that has the potential to be catastrophic (a catastrophic fire is defined in the Regulation to mean a fire involving a combustible accelerant, including petrol, kerosene, oil, tar, paint or polar solvents including ethanol) or to extinguish a fire on a watercraft in State or prescribed waters
Sell a portable fire extinguisher containing the precursor to PFAS firefighting foam.

The maximum penalty for any of these offences will be $44,000 for a corporation and $22,000 for an individual."

Written by Claire Smith & Cloe Jolly Clayton UTZ

https://www.claytonutz.com/knowledge/2021/march/nsw-introduces-ban-to-prevent-pfas-contamination

https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/contaminated-land/regulation-of-pfas-firefighting-foams

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