That was the message given to more than 40 residents and concerned community members at the latest community information session, revealing results from detailed site investigations (DSI) and the human health and ecological risk assessment (HHERA) at Albatross and its surrounds on Thursday night.

But despite that finding, the report also recommended that soil on one property where PFAS was present was not suitable for growing fruit and vegetable produce, without further assessment.

And “where possible cattle should be moved away from surface water drains and pasture where PFAS had been detected and the consumption of homeslaughtered livestock was not suitable for those properties, where the meat was the 100 per cent intake.”

Investigators could also not rule out a possible link between the contamination at the naval base and recent higher PFAS levels in certain fish species in the Shoalhaven River.

However, the EPA says it continues to investigate the PFAS contamination in the Shoalhaven River, saying there were a number of potential causes.

Read More: EPA unsure of Shoalhaven River PFAS contamination source

Department of Defence representative and assistant secretary PFAS Investigation and Management Program, Luke McLeod along with contractor’s Aurecon project director Adam Anderson revealed the latest test results.

Mr McLeod said PFAS was made up of a number of chemicals including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) and had been historically used in defence fire fighting foams among a host of other applications.

“PFAS are a class of manufactured chemicals that have been used since the 1950s to make products that resist heat, stains, grease and water,” he said.

“The chemicals have been used widely across range of domestic and industrial applications.”

He said the Environmental Health Standing Committee (enHealth) Guidance Statements on per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, released in June 2016, there was currently no consistent evidence that exposure to these PFAS causes adverse human health effects. But because they persist in humans and the environment enHealth recommended that human exposure be minimised as a precaution.

“We know these chemicals stay in the environment for a long time and don’t biodegrade,” he said.

Naturally, PFAS residue from the historical use of firefight foams was found on the base at number of locations.

The primary sources were the firefighting training areas, the sewerage treatment works, where surface water flowed into the treatment plant and on sites that had been irrigated on the base.

The report says while the risks were low, areas of “concern” had been identified with elevated levels including the Braidwood Road drain to the north of the base and Upper Currambene Creek catchment to the south.

Across a range of tests, on and off-base most of the findings of risk were low and acceptable.

The primary pathway for PFAS to migrate off-base was overland transport through surface run-off, with secondary off-base migration through groundwater.

The majority of water samples from surface water bodies being used for stock water and food production collected from residential properties contained PFAS concentrations below the screening criteria for recreational water.

The detailed site investigation included 144 primary soil samples from 46 borehole locations, 142 primary soil samples from 78 hand auger locations, while 46 monitoring wells were installed to monitor groundwater, collecting 152 groundwater samples across two to four rounds.

There were 49 surface water sampling locations, with 160 surface water samples taken across four monitoring rounds (two wet, two dry), while 51 sediment samples were taken across 45 sampling locations.

Read more: Earlier testings results.

Read More: Questions continue over local defence base contamination

However, there was the potential for bioaccumulation, areas where the chemical accumulate and won’t break down.

The report says there is no risk identified to the health of defence personnel, contractors or visitors on the base.

Off base terrestrial and aquatic environments only showed low and acceptable risk to livestock, with no toxicity to the ecology discovered.

The risks to human health off-base due to the consumption of fish caught from local waterways including the Shoalhaven River Basin to the north of the base, was low and acceptable

However, to the southern Clyde Basin it was noted where fish and crustaceans were caught and consumed only a few times a year, the risk may be more elevated with regular consumption.

The use of surface water for stock and irrigation was generally low and acceptable as was the consumption of honey from the area.

There was a potential for elevated risks were 100 per cent meat intake was property sourced from the Braidwood Road Sub Catchment, but that was currently not the case.

It did recommend where possible cattle should be moved away from surface water drains and pasture where PFAS had been detected and consumption of homeslaughtered livestock was not suitable for these properties.

Similarly the same potential was there for the Braidwood Road drain and upper Currambene Creek catchments as far as dairying was concerned, but again that industry was was not happening.

Read more: HMAS Albatross personnel exposed to PFAS should have blood tests - Senator Lee Rhiannon

There was the potential for elevated risks where agricultural water exceeded drinking water  human health-based guidance values (HBGVs), used for stock water and irrigation including. This included the eating of eggs and fruit and vegetables but again this wasn't happening in those areas.

The risk of the ingestion of fruit and vegetables in contact with PFAS-impacted water or soils was low and acceptable except for one property on the Braidwood Road drain sub catchment and three locations on public land.

However, it was recommended soil at these locations was not suitable for growing fruit and vegetable produce, without further assessment.

The use of groundwater for drinking and potable water was not currently happening, however if in the future ground water was used in such a fashion there was the potential of exposure to elevated levels in the Braidwood Road drain and upper Currambene Creek catchments.

The report concluded additional data was needed to be collected from the lower reaches of the Currambene Creek where more regular recreational fishing is likely to occur and potential risks associated with the consumption of fish and crustaceans can then be further reviewed, while further soil and biota sampling was needed from the endangered Lowland Rainforest present at the base.

The development of a strategic management plan for HMAS Albatross was underway, including an ongoing groundwater and surface management plan.

The next community information session is anticipated March/April 2018.

The full defence report is available here.