Water generated from the NACC project construction activities could potentially be contaminated with a range of pollutants including, but not limited to hydrocarbons, metals and per– and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), of which; perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are of concern. PFAS are used in a wide variety of industrial and commercial products such as textiles, metal plating, photography, photolithography, semi-conductors, paper packaging, coatings, pesticides, and in legacy Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) products used for aviation firefighting activities.
All water treatment plant (WTP) processes being employed by Synergy are proven to reduce total PFAS concentrations, up to 20,000 micrograms per litre (μg/L) before treatment, to less than (<) 0.01 μg/L, after treatment.
The Synergy NACC WTP #1 has been operational since January 2016, and has successfully treated a cumulative volume of 480 million litres, to August 2017. WTP #2 has been operational since July 2016, and has treated a cumulative volume of 60 million litres, to August 2017.
Both WTPs have proven to be successful in reducing PFAS contamination from water to below NSW EPA, Department of Health and Department of Defence approved criteria.
Additionally, the process technology can minimise waste streams substantially, by comparison to conventional techniques, to less than 0.1% the volume of water treated, thereby being sustainable and cost effective from an operational and maintenance perspective.
