A popular Sydney beach has been quietly closed to swimmers over fears the water contains “permanent chemicals” that can cause cancer.
At Tower Beach, or ‘Plainspotting Beach’, next to Sydney Airport, ‘no swimming’ and ‘no fishing’ signs have been installed without any fanfare, although unsuspecting residents continue to wade into the water as temperatures rise.
A body of groundwater, known as the Botany Sands aquifer, beneath the airport is contaminated with dangerous levels of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
PFAS have been linked to cancer and are considered “forever chemicals” because they never break down in the environment.
The “no swimming” signs were quietly installed two years ago, but sunbathers, fishermen and horseback riders still frequent the beach.
Families with small children prefer the beach for its calm waters.
Tower Beach is also popular with airplane enthusiasts who enjoy the view of the airport’s main runway.
Local resident Terry Daly was outraged by Sydney Airport’s lack of transparency about the threat and poor visibility of “no swimming” signs.
The ‘no swimming’ signs were quietly installed two years ago, but swimmers, fishermen and horse riders continue to enter the water at Tower Beach, next to Sydney Airport (pictured).
Tower Beach, also known as ‘Plainspotting Beach’, is on the doorstep of Sydney Airport.
“The little kids play in the sand there all the time,” Mr. Daly told the Sydney Morning Herald.
The presence of PFAS in New South Wales, including Botany Bay, is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the New South Wales EPA.
A spokeswoman for the environmental watchdog said this week it was continuing to urge the federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, which regulates the airport land, to protect Australians from PFAS.
“Transparency around the level of contamination is important to ensure community awareness,” the spokesperson said.
But there is an argument over who should pay for the cleanup: Sydney Airport or Airservices Australia, which used foams containing PFAS in its firefighting operations at the airport until 2010.
Airservices Australia is carrying out its own investigation into the presence of PFAS at the airport, with a result expected in mid-2025.
It comes after low levels of PFAS were also detected in Sydney’s drinking water catchments in June 2024.
Testing revealed carcinogens were present at major filtration plants including Orchard Hills, Prospect Reservoir and Warragamba.
The presence of PFAS in New South Wales, including Botany Bay, is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the New South Wales EPA.
However, there were no detectable levels of PFAS in the Macarthur, Nepean, Woronora River or Illawarra catchments.
The concentration levels are within safe limits for Australian drinking water, but are much higher than what US authorities consider safe to drink.
The results of testing by Sydney Water led the country’s largest water company to begin monthly testing in “potentially affected areas”.
The move contradicted Sydney Water’s previous position that there were no PFAS hotspots in the city’s drinking water catchments.