MEDIA RELEASE: GIVE KATHERINE PFAS BLOOD TESTS

23 November 2017

Federal Labor continues to call on the Turnbull Government to extend blood testing for PFAS to residents in Katherine.

In response to a letter from Labor, the Minister for Defence has directed all questions about the expansion of blood testing for Katherine residents to the Department of Health.

With the buck passed to the Health Minister, will he listen to the advice of his own Acting Chief Medical Officer, who has said:

Blood testing will not tell an individual whether the PFAS levels in their blood will make them sick now or later in life, but may be of use in determining whether PFAS exposure reduction measures have been successful over time.

Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr Anthony Hobbs, 19 November 2017

When will the Turnbull Government give Katherine residents access to blood tests?